Kingdom Hearts Remake 3: The Heartless Syndicate
by nightelf37
Summary: Sora, Riku, Kairi, and I  along with friends, old and new  must travel the worlds to 'elect' Keyblade Bearers to combat against a future threat. If that wasn't enough, we must also confront a new present threat; The Heartless Syndicate.
1. Prologue: Start of a New Journey

nightelf37: I know that I'm not yet finished with Kingdom Hearts Remake 2, but with the official Kingdom Hearts III coming any year now and with Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance just around the corner (or two), I decided to 'establish' my 'fanon' right now so I don't get conflicted for straying from canon. I may put in story elements from Kingdom Hearts 3D, but I may not should it stray from my fanon. So, without any further ado—

Random Bystander: Ado, ado, ado—

Random Bystander gets shot. nightelf37 turns to see a mysterious character in Western monk robes whose head resembles a Quiggle's and his colors split between orange and purple. This character promptly disappears.

nightelf37: Yeesh! I thought that guy was taken care of by Vincent in Life of the Planet's _**End of the Crisis**_. Anyway, remember, only the plot and OCs belong to me. Now my I present…

_Kingdom Hearts Remake 3: The Heartless Syndicate_

Prologue: Start of a New Journey

Part I. Recap

-A/N: My Kingdom Hearts 3 will take place after _coded_, will take into consideration the events of _358/2 Days_ (Xion **will** make an appearance) and _Birth By Sleep_ will be taken into account (Ven will be there, too). All this is taken directly from the Kingdom Hearts Wiki. I may put edits though to implement the 'edits' I have.-

_**Hidden truths**_

Terra and Master Xehanort stand in a black abyss. The two have a faint glow around them, as they are actually their hearts inside the new Xehanort, and are conversing. Master Xehanort wonders aloud how Terra can still remain there after being possessed. Terra responds that it is still his body and he is eventually going to expel Master Xehanort from his body. Master Xehanort merely shrugs this off, convinced that Terra will not be able to counter the darkness, but Terra reveals that Master Eraqus is residing within him, and no matter what, he will not stop fighting until he has foiled Master Xehanort. The elderly Keyblade Master shows no concern, and gleefully informs Terra that possessing him was merely one of many roads he chose to take.

_**Image of their backs, preserved in memory.**_

The new Xehanort is seen walking through the corridors of Ansem the Wise's castle. Braig approaches him and attempts to start conversation but finds himself completely rebuked. Shocked at his lacking response, Braig immediately deduces that "Master Xehanort" surely has lost all of his memories. Looking into Xehanort's eyes, he asks precariously if the man standing before him is actually Terra. Xehanort remains silent, but Braig pats him on the back and states lightly that it doesn't matter, and that he's "got his back." As the two walk on, Ienzo and Ansem the Wise appear in the hall, holding hands and eating sea-salt ice cream. Just before he and his young apprentice turn a corner, Ienzo stops, gaining his master's attention. The young apprentice turns his head to see Braig and Xehanort walking away together behind them. Ansem also looks back thoughtfully at the backs of Xehanort and Braig.

_**Two who were never meant to meet**_

A hooded Ansem the Wise sits in the Dark Margin, wearing a Black Coat. Aqua appears next to him, asks his name and how he ended up in the Dark Realm. Ansem remarks how rarely he has guests, says it's his second time on these shores and explains his memory has faded almost completely, "much like the first time," so he has difficulty recalling his past. Aqua sits next to him on the shore and states that she fell into the darkness and has been wandering for a long time, unable to find a way to her original world. Ansem asks why she wants to return, to which Aqua replies she promised she would be there for her friends. Hearing the word "friends," Ansem remembers he had once known a boy who was very similar to her, a boy who is loyal and true to his friends, and travels across the worlds to safeguard the Light.

Ansem explains to Aqua that the worlds were almost swallowed by Darkness multiple times and that they were always saved by a boy wielding his Keyblade. Hearing this, Aqua asks if the boy's name happens to be Terra or Ventus. Ansem tells her that it is neither of them and explains further that it has been over a year since he had met the boy. He reflects aloud that through seeking vengeance he did many terrible things to the boy and his friends, causing so many people to suffer. He blames it on his conscience and the fact he has the heart of a researcher, and reveals that as the boy slept, he hid his research data within him. Ansem realizes that the boy, whose heart is connected to so many others, could possibly open the door and save those who are suffering because of him, remarking that they are all waiting to be born anew from sleep. Aqua then requests the boy's name.

_**All the pieces lie where they fell**_

Naminé is seen in the White Room of the Old Mansion in Twilight Town, finishing a drawing of Sora on the Paopu Tree. She says Sora's name and the scene changes to Roxas, Xion, and Axel, who are sitting happily together on the Clock Tower with sea-salt ice cream and looking into the sunset. Roxas and Xion also say Sora's name. Ventus is seen sitting asleep at the Land of Departure, where Terra appears next to him. Ven wakes up and the two also say Sora's name while looking at a shooting star. Back at the Dark Margin, Aqua begins to cry tears of joy having heard the name of the little boy she met on Destiny Islands. She too says Sora's name while looking to the moon in the horizon of the Realm of Darkness.

_**Where they wait for him...**_

Sora is then seen sitting on the bent Paopu tree in the Destiny Islands with a look of determination on his face. Riku walks up to him from behind, asking if he has decided yet. Sora is seen holding King Mickey's letter from the end of Kingdom Hearts II and Kingdom Hearts coded, saying that he has. Kairi appears and Sora explains to her that he needs to venture out and help the people who need him, because he is who he is now because of them. Kairi smiles and places her Lucky Charm in his hand and tells him, "See you soon."

_**Reconnect. Kingdom Hearts**_

(after the events of _coded_)

King Mickey and Yen Sid are seen mid-conversation in the Sorcerer's Chamber of the Mysterious Tower. Mickey says that they may be close to knowing the location of Ventus's heart, and Yen Sid concludes that the only one left to find is Terra.

Yen Sid then proceeds to tell Mickey that he wonders what Xehanort's next intentions will be. Mickey is puzzled as to how Xehanort could even be around, as both his Heartless (Ansem) and his Nobody (Xemnas) have been destroyed by Sora. Yen Sid explains to him that in doing so, Sora actually freed Xehanort's heart from the Heartless, Ansem, and vanquished his left over body which had become Xemnas. Both halves have now reconstructed the original Xehanort, which will also eventually lead to the return of his original incarnation, Master Xehanort.

Mickey assures Yen Sid that he, Sora, and Riku will be there to counter Xehanort should he attack the Realm of Light again, but Yen Sid explains that Sora and Riku are not powerful enough like Mickey, who is a true Keyblade Master, and furthermore, tells Mickey that one Keyblade Master alone will not be enough to face what is "not a single one of Xehanort".

Before Mickey can question this occurrence, Yen Sid orders Mickey to summon Sora and Riku to him to undertake a Mark of Mastery Exam.

Part II. Meeting an Old Friend

In an empty city somewhere…

"Doctor Octogonapus! BLAHHHH!"

-A/N: There's no meme here. The character himself is here.-

Kairi dodged the beam of pure energy that was about to hit her. With the Destiny's Embrace in hand, she rushed straight for her opponent. He was her height, had orange clean-cut hair, wore a pair of shades, a grey jumpsuit of some kind, and had four long robotic appendages out of his back.

"Doctor Octogonapus! BLAHHHH!"

After Doctor Octogonapus said his name, his mouth turned red and his eyes went wid open and crazy-looking. Like before, another beam of pure energy emerged from his wide-open mouth and was headed straight for her. Having no time to dodge, she cast Reflega and the beam was reflected right back at the doctor. This shoved him back as Kairi followed up with a sphere of light. As the Light spell hit, she retreated to a dark alley between two buildings.

Kairi took deep breaths as she planned on what to do next. Before she could do so, Dr. Octogonapus appeared, said his name, and then blasted another beam at her. She dodged by wall-jumping her way up, and then flipping onto the rooftop of one of the buildings. She then followed with a Fira spell, shooting two balls of fire that went right for the doctor.

Dr. Octogonapus blocked the attack with his 'tentacles', and the fireballs created a cloud of smoke upon impact. Then, he said his name and fired a beam again, right for Kairi, who jumped forward. When the beam stopped, the female Keyblade wielder was now inside the smoke cloud. She then cast Lightra, in which a sphere of light shone from the tip of her Keyblade and dissipated the smoke, and 'irradiated' Dr. Octogonapus. The doctor then fell to the ground, defeated.

"Nicely done, Kairi Earthsea.", said a voice.

All of a sudden, the entire landscape (and Dr. Octogonapus) seemed to fall apart into data and before she knew it, she was in a holographic training room of sorts and she wore a headset that projected the whole fight. Kairi took it off and headed to the door to be greeted by an anthropomorphic yellow Eyrie.

"How did I do, Fiorina?", Kairi asked.

"You dealt with that Level 3 Dr. Octogonapus program quite nicely.", the Eyrie remarked. The hardest is Level 10. "Another month of training and I'd say you'll reach the same level as Sora and Riku. Or at least their level before they left to take their Mark of Mastery exams from Master Yen Sid."

It was two years since then. Prior to that, the whole island was told about their adventures and the school made sure to send them loads of homework to do to make up for their inevitable absence. Kairi giggled upon remembering that thought. As thanks for returning Team Meridell home, she, as well as Sora and Riku, were allowed access to the Neopets Agency Headquarters and their other bases. However, access to the rest of Neopia is restricted for security reasons and to keep the concept of other worlds a secret to the 'users'.

"How'd you know about that?", Kairi asked the Eyrie.

"About what?"

"Sora and Riku's Mark of Mastery Exam?"

"You told me about it for the past year when you decided to go train in Neopia."

"Oh, right."

"By the way, NA received a message. It was from Sora Windsun and Riku Rivenhart. They are waiting for you at Radiant Garden."

"Wow! I get to see them again!", Kairi cheered, then asked. "But why in Radiant Garden and not Destiny Islands?"

"I don't know either. I also don't know how they know how to send it to the Agency itself, but they said that another threat is coming and they need your help."

"Do you think Rael could come too?"

"Well…"

Just then, something on Fiorina's wrist rang. It was her communicator. The Eyrie answered it.

"Fiorina Lowearth.", a voice from the communicator said. "This is Prytariel Rosada. Please come over to the Terror Mountain base. There's something you need to see."

"On my way." Fiorina turned off the device, turned to Kairi, and said. "Come with me."

KHKHKHKHKH

Sometime later, at the Terror Mountain sector of the Neopets Agency (The NA has bases scattered all over Neopia), Fiorina and Kairi met up with an anthropomorphic Cloud Aisha, who wore a a hood over her black-haired head which had holes for her ears, a pair of earmuffs on the hood, and had a uniform that was different from the ones Team Meridell wore. These uniforms seemed to have two brown 'belts' crossing each other at the center, and a blue and white vertical-striped top. The bottom was cyan and the footwear seemed to vary between Neopets; Prytariel's were simple boots with some white furry covering.

"Okay, what is it?", Fiorina asked the Aisha.

"Well, it's concerning a certain victim of the Snowager."

"What's so special about this one? There have been many victims and all of them came out fine after a swig of some Healing Potions or a visit to the Healing Springs."

"I think you should come see for yourself."

Prytariel led Fiorina and Kairi to a special room, where there was a block of ice being melted. Inside it were a Yellow Acara, a Yellow Usul, a Yellow Grundo, a Yellow Shoyru, and—

"Oh, no!", Kairi gasped upon seeing me among the frozen. Around the ice blocks were certain devices that were preparing to melt the ice.

-A/N: In here, I'm wearing the same clothes from Kingdom Hearts Remake 2.-

"Don't worry.", Prytariel assured her. "He'll be fine. Thankfully, the Snowager's ice breath is harmless, so there is no need to worry about hypothermia, frostbite, shock, suffocation, ice crystals forming in the body, or anything like that."

-A/N: The reason behind how I found out about all the stuff mentioned above is by Kairi explaining after.-

Just then, the ice broke and clouded the area in mist. However, there was something strange. As the mist cleared, Among the four Yellow Neopets were—

"Aww, great.", I complained, looking at myself. "I'm a Kacheek again!"

Sure enough, I was back in my Blue Kacheek form I assumed back at the time of Eithne's attack in Neopia. And my clothes have disappeared too instead of bunching over my now smaller form.

"Great.", the Acara complained. "What should we do now?"

Just then, for some unknown reason, a fireball came flying straight towards me and hit. This made a cloud of smoke and when it cleared, I was human again. And wearing the clothes I had before I turned into a Kacheek.

"Now I didn't expect that."

"Umm…" Kairi turned to Fiorina and asked, "Where were we?"

"Oh, yes, I remember. It's about Sora and Riku asking that you come to Radiant Garden."

"What for?", I asked.

"I'm guessing you want to know?"

"Of course."

KHKHKHKHKH

Later…

We now lounged at my Neohome, which now had a secret portal to the Faerieland sector of the NA. After I introduced my Neopets to Kairi, Fiorina then explained the message.

"And…that pretty much sums it up.", she finished, after a couple of minutes passed.

"Okay…Guess I'm coming."

"You sure?", Kairi asked. "I mean, your life in—"

"Don't worry. When my consciousness here ends upon my waking there, once it starts again, it will be at the second it ended, so I don't go unconscious at any time. I don't know how that is possible, but I'll go with it."

"Mind if we come too?", Messerole, the Yellow Grundo asked.

"What?", I gasped.

"Come on, come on. Please?", Aquanax pleaded, making 'that look' with her big Acara eyes. With such a look, I just wasn't able to resist.

"Oh, all right.", I conceded. "But those talismans we had when we fought Eithne were destroyed, right?"

"Well, despite that, we still have some of our 'book skills'.", Euryflavia said. "Aaand, ever since joining the Agency as the mini-squadron called Yellow Travelers, we got some new weapons, too."

Each of my Neopets rushed to their beds (I was never able to put up walls in my Neohome), looked underneath them, took some things there, and then ran back to the table where Fiorina, Kairi, and I sat around.

"Of course, we don't reveal to have them when you play with us as a user.", Tychophon said as he showed his weapon. It was a yellow compound bow and a gold-tinted quiver that seemed to be closed save for a hole to pull out an arrow.

Aquanax had an electric-blue colored cannon of some kind that was to be mounted on her back and was shaped like the "bazooka" Yoris had.

Messerole had a green wind-and-fire wheel (which I mistakenly called a chakram) that had a cross handle in it and a small 'piece of tech' that he said was for the weapon to return to him at will.

Euryflavia wielded a simple-looking red morning-star (a spiked mace) which had a button on it to make it vibrate, resulting in more damage dealt, which reminded me of Squall's gunblade, as shown when she did a few test swings in front of me.

"So…may we come?", Aquanax asked again.

"I already said yes, remember?", I told her. My four Neopets cheered upon hearing this and jumped to me.

Part III. New Allies

Later, Fiorina, Kairi, me, and my four Neopets were now at the Kreludor sector of the NA, at the hangar to be exact. With us were "Wizard" Windelle, and four other (anthropomorphic) Neopets. We stood below a large Gummi Ship with a ramp leading inside open. I also noticed that the vessel seemed to have the basic shape of a 5-point star and its weapon systems were colored white.

-A/N: I'm no good when it comes to detailing the outside of a space ship or any large vehicle, so bear with me.-

One of the Neopets was a Skunk Kacheek and I identified him to be Montecito of Team Brightvale, judging by his green uniform with a white streak across it lined with yellow.

The second was a Faerie Kacheek whom I identified as Babolino of Team Faerieland, taking to account his (yes, his) pink-and-purple uniform.

The third was an Island Mynci with a large build, surpassing even Ilsa in terms of size, and seems to wear only a green strap (with accents of tan), a pair of triangular earrings, two rings strapped with grass, and a grass skirt, most of which are standard uniform of Team Mystery Island.

The fourth was a Shadow Mynci who sported, along with the standard uniform of Team Shenkuu, a eyepatch over his right eye.

"Allow me to introduce the agents who will be joining you on this…adventure.", Fiorina explained to Kairi. "The black-and-white Kacheek is Montecito. Don't let his cute looks fool you. In addition to craftiness and tenacity, he fights dirty when he gets the chance. The Kacheek with Faerie wings is Babolino. He hits fast, but he isn't very durable. This big Mynci here is Volgoth. He may look like dumb muscle, but his intelligence is average, being a squad leader and all. And the black Mynci is Foltaggio. He's small, but he's strong and has quite a short temper."

"Why are they all here?", Kairi asked.

"Didn't she just tell you?", Wizard told her.

"Oh, right."

"Also, the reason why it's like this is because the rest of Team Meridell is still a little…homesick. And also because after hearing of our adventures with Sora, some of them wanted a piece of the action as well."

"Shouldn't we get going already?", Foltaggio asked impatiently.

"Okay.", Fiorina said, then turned to me. "Get on board. The Estrella will be ready to take off soon."

"That's the name of the ship?", I asked, pointing to the vessel above as the other Neopets, including the four I own, got moving.

"Yes. For some reason, the Falcon, the one you made, came to Kreludor."

"What? I thought it was at Disney Castle, after it mysteriously came to Destiny Islands to fetch the King, Django, Donald, and Goofy. Who was piloting the Falcon?"

"The team sent to investigate seemed to, for some reason, forget who the pilot was. I'm thinking whoever piloted the ship here also wiped the memories of whoever interacted with him. I don't know why he would do that, but…"

"Never mind.", I cut in. "Who'll be flying the Falcon?"

"Wizard will. It's supposed to be classified information but…he's also bringing certain items that will be crucial to what you guys will be partaking in."

"Huh?"

"Hey! Hurry up!", Babolino called from the ramp. "We're almost ready to go."

"On it!", I called back. "Well, it's time for me to go."

"Good luck.", Fiorina said as I made my way up the ramp and into the Estrella.

-A/N: All this takes place in Neopia after the Altador Cup V (2010).-

Part IV. A Message

A month ago, at Disney Castle…

After the Mark of Mastery Exam for Sora and Riku was over, Yen Sid advised King Mickey that he head for home to rest. The King conceded and he piloted his new Gummi Ship, the Monarch, to Disney Castle. After greeting his dear Queen Minnie, the moment he 'hit the sack', he received a dream. He was slowly falling onto a stained glass platform. Unlike most, this one seemed to be around three times larger than usual.

The outer ring had numerous circles with head shots of more than a hundred individuals. Most of them he didn't recognize, but these were what he identified; Tarzan, Jack Skellington, Peter Pan, Mulan, Captain Jack Sparrow, Simba, Hercules, Chicken Little, Leon, Irvine, Rinoa, Cloud, Aladdin, Ariel, Beast, Tron, Auron, Dumbo, Stitch, and Hayner.

While he didn't know the following, these piqued his attention: a grown-up male deer, a young man with orange hair and a pair of glasses which lenses seemed a bit small for his eyes, a blue horned creature with purple spots, a blue bug, a man with a funny hat of sorts, a brown-haired teenager who had the look of an adventurer, a hooded woman with dusty-blond hair, a blond girl with long pigtails and a jeweled headpiece, a blue haired girl with yellow star hair clips, a dark-green haired girl with a beaded headband, a girl with a khaki-colored cap and glasses, a noticeably younger girl with dark blue hair and brown eyes, a small purple unicorn with two highlights—magenta and pink—on her mane, and four other males whom he couldn't describe or don't have any other prominent features.

At the bottom of the inner circle were Sora, himself, Kairi and Riku. To their right were me, Fiorina, Wizard, and Django. To the Keyblade wielders' right were four unknown figures, although one of them seemed to be related to the Solar Boy, the monarch guessed. Above all of them were the people Sora had to free from their torment; Ventus, Aqua, Terra, Axel, Naminé, Roxas, Xion (as Data Naminé had told him about). There was also a boy about Sora's age, who had black skin, brown eyes, crew cut black hair, and wielded two metallic 'blades', although they looked more like rods.

When he finally landed, he sensed a presence behind him, summoned his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key D, and turned around. There stood three of the four mysterious figures he saw at the mural. Upon closer inspection he saw that they had black, grey, and white monk's robes. The one with the grey robes had the face of a toad, though the color on him was split evenly between orange and purple. He also had brown, clean-cut hair. The one in black robes had the face of a Siberian husky, although his fur was purple and he had black, well-combed hair reaching to his neck. The one in white robes had a face that seemed to remind him of Sir Pollonaire, although this one was female (taking into account her figure compared with the other two), was colored orange (compared to Pollonaire's green), and had long wavy blond hair.

"Who are you?", asked Mickey. The grey robed figure stepped forward.

"You may refer to us as the Fusiliers of Shadows.", he said. "I am Joel. My purple friend here is David, and the orange one is Hayden."

"…Okay. What do you want, and why I am here?", asked the King.

"To deliver you these.", Joel said as he pulled out three papers and tossed them to the King. "You are to deliver them, King Mickey."

"How—"

"The papers will appear in your hand once you wake up.", Hayden explained. "And how we know who you are, it's better left unsaid."

"The first letter is to be hung in the Postern of Radiant Garden, so that people may volunteer.", David said. "The second one is to be sent to Sora and Riku, who are to relay it to our friends in Neopia. The third is to be sent to a boy named Jerry Estevez."

"Who's that?" asked Mickey.

"He is a resident of Radiant Garden and has powers greater than that of a certain friend of Sora's who used what I believe is called a lightsaber. He shall be of great help."

"Why should I do this?"

The three ignored his question and Joel then said, "Another of Sora's friends, a Gunner of Light named "Wizard" Windelle will arrive with a pack of items that you will need."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"It has been prophesied by Cosmos, the Goddess of Harmony, that there will be a great calamity that will threaten this universe, and the heroes here are, as of now, not strong enough to repel this."

King Mickey gasped from this. He knew Cosmos, and he knew that if a threat was so severe that she foresaw it, it was definitely serious. "What would you like to be done?", asked the king.

"You, and those who volunteer are to assemble at Radiant Garden, where Wizard shall distribute the items you need to use for your journey.", said David. "Take your vessel with you as you'll need to divide into three groups. From there, the items will guide you."

"But what are these items you keep talking about?"

"Once you gather, Wizard will explain.", Hayden assured him.

And with that, Mickey awoke. It may seem to have been only a few minutes, but he felt like he slept for hours.

Part V. Maleficent's Plan

In The World That Never Was…

Maleficent was proud of herself. With the help of Xin, and his remaining Crescent Units (four of them, not counting himself and Autumnus), she was able to redecorate the Organization's old castle, The Castle That Never Was, to suit her. This meaning the castle now had a dark look compared to the pale whiteness it once had and plenty of vines with thorns lined the hallways. Some of the castle was destroyed from the Lumus Squad's conflict against Xemnas, but most of the Castle luckily remained intact. She was looking out a window that showed the Dark City below the castle.

"Maleficent," said Xin, "Everyone has assembled. Shall we start now?"

"…Fine."

Maleficent was in a conference room. (1) Along with what's left of the Crescent Alliance, she had managed to amass yet another group of villains, each of them with a desire for ultimate darkness. Notably, she was able to assemble this 'club' much faster than the previous one.

"Do you know why we are here?", she asked. Although she knew the answer, she wanted to see if they knew.

"Kingdom Hearts?", guessed a small furry figure.

"Yes, and no.", Xin corrected. "We won't try and conquer it until the Keyblade wielders and the Gunners of Light have been dealt with, the former of which some of you have already met."

"That is true, I think somebody Pete met once before met one of such.", said a sinister lion, who happened to look like the 'form' Autumnus assumed when he was in the Pride Lands. He wore a collar for translating his thoughts to the others. "And a Gunner of Light, too."

"How are we to destroy them?", asked another of these villains, who communicated through a large mirror of sorts provided by the Crescent Alliance. Through the mirror, all that could be described about him was that he seemed to be a man of the sea in the literal sense.

"Darkness, of course.", Autumnus answered, toying with a silver sphere that had the Nobody sigil on it. "And with these, we got the Nobodies under our control as well."

"Do we attack the islands?", asked a man in black.

"No.", Pete answered. "Word is the Keyblade wielders are no longer there. Also, you should know that the Gunners of Light reside in a world that cannot be reached by the Heartless."

"It should be also noted though that an female entity of fire was able to control them and attack that world with the Heartless.", Autumnus noted. (2)

"We're getting off the subject.", Pete told Autumnus gruffly.

"For once, you're right, Pete.", Maleficent agreed.

"Where are we going to find these heroes of light?", asked a large blue spider monster.

"That, we do not know.", Xin said. "However, we do know that the Gunners of Light have left that particular world Pete mentioned earlier."

"So…what do we do then?", asked a well-muscled man in a red suit.

"We look for them.", Maleficent said. "Meeting adjourned, you may leave."

And so they did, each escorted through a Dark Corridor by a Crescent Unit, although the man in black opened his own and the mirror was merely stowed away. Each of these villains had a different reason for wanting darkness, but they all had valid ones.

"You think they're good enough to take them on?", asked Pete.

Xin and Maleficent didn't answer as they looked back outside. Feeling ignored, Pete decided to leave and Autumnus joined him.

"This new group had better pay off soon.", Xin told the sorceress.

Suddenly, said sorceress felt something odd and looked to where she thought it was coming from. There was nothing or no one there. It felt familiar.

"Something wrong?", the Wutian asked.

"Pay me no mind.", Maleficent told Xin. "I'm simply making plans."

"I see."

Part VI. Jerry

The boy checked his bag. There was nothing inside.

_Well, it's feeding time._, he thought. He was 17 years old, had crew cut black hair, dark brown eyes and an average build. He wore a plain black T-shirt adorned with a white circle and two mountain range-like shapes near its sides. He also wore denim pants dyed in black, a red hooded cape, white sneakers and matching leather motorcycle gloves.

He went to the payphone, put in a 1 munny coin, and dialed the phone number of the store that was just a block away. There was a ring tone.

"Hello there.", he said. "Are you the manger of the food shipment business?"

"Yes, why?", asked the man on the other end of the line.

"You sir have the chance to win 500,000 munny!", the boy said.

"What? Are you serious!"

"Yes I am. Now please stay on the line." The boy put the phone's speaker next to a tape recorder that played what some people would call elevator music. The boy then ran into a nearby alley, and then checked to see if anybody was looking. There was no one. No one except a bum, although he can 'convince' him that everything's fine. He made his way to the back door of the store, where the clerk was still on the phone.

_This is too easy._, he thought. He looked around and saw food. Using his powers, the food 'floated' into the air and flew straight to the boy's backpack and moments later, his backpack was filled with enough food for a baker's dozen (3) of people. A perfect balance of nutrition. He quickly left and ran to the payphone saying, "Have a nice day." He then hung up.

"Way too easy.", he added to himself.

"Hey! Hold it!", someone yelled. He turned around and saw the law enforcers coming his way. Not long ago, The Radiant Garden Restoration Committee had set up a police force. The big machines used in the Battle of the X000 Heartless have since been decommissioned, although the Saucers and Alert Heads were still in service. He came into blows with them numerous times. As he fled, he suddenly ran into an alley. And a dead end.

"Hold it right there!", said the 'officer' as two of his comrades backed him up.

"Take it easy. I can explain.", the boy said as he confronted Zell, Rinoa, and Irvine.

"Tell that to Squall once we take you in!", Zell said as he pulled out a metallic sphere and tossed it to the ground. It then exploded, releasing a wave of strange energy.

"And what should that be?", asked the boy.

"That, Jerry, would be an A.M.P. detonator.", Irvine explained. "Anti-Magic Pulse. For the next few minutes, magic cannot be used within a radius of one meter."

The boy, Jerry, clapped his hands in slow applause. "Well done.", he said. "That's quite an effective weapon. Too bad you used it on the wrong target."

"What do you mean?", Rinoa asked.

"I don't use magic. At least not the sort you guys use."

He lifted his right hand at eye level, and quickly pulled it back, clenching his fist. At that instant, Zell's feet flew forward and he flipped before falling flat on his back. Rinoa launched her blaster edge, which curved forward and cut a rope conveniently holding up a heavy crate of 500 pounds. As the crate fell on Jerry, he 'caught' it mid-air, and then 'tossed' it right behind him. When the crate landed on the ground with a loud crash, Irvine fired a few rounds from his rifle, but all the bullets 'stopped' short an inch from Jerry's open palm and hovered there. The boy then wagged his finger, let the bullets drop, and then 'pushed' the sniper down. Rinoa made no move to attack again, seeing what Jerry just pulled off on her comrades.

"Wise move, girl.", Jerry said calmly, and then made an informal salute of sorts. "Hasta la vista." He then leaped very high into the air, landing on a fire escape, and then jumped again onto the roof and out of sight.

"Rats!", Zell cussed as he got up. "He got away again!"

Rinoa gave a sigh and said, "Perhaps Jerry is not worth arresting. After all, he's not a threat to society."

"Perhaps not.", Irvine replied. "But remember that he already had 78 cases of theft and just as many cases of resisting arrest. With that much crimes, he should be behind bars by now."

"Let's just return to the RGRCHQ.", Zell sighed. "We'll catch him one day."

KHKHKHKHKH

Elsewhere…

Somewhere in Radiant Garden was an orphanage. It was rather run-down, but it was serviceable enough to be still running. Jerry made his way to the place's back door. after knocking on it for a while, the door opened to reveal an elderly man in gray clothes.

"Ah. Good to see you, Jerry."

"Good to see you too, Mr. Dotson. How are the kids?"

"Doing fine, young man. Please come in."

Jerry entered the orphanage's kitchen and took out the food he had stolen from the store earlier.

"Don't tell me that these were stolen from Jones' General Store.", said Mr. Dotson.

"Sorry, but you know I couldn't bear to see the kids become homeless, begging in the streets, and stealing for their survival. So that's why I do it for them; to spare them from such a fate."

"And the million munny you stole the other day?"

"I got them from the greedy rich. They won't miss it. And they deserve it."

"Jerry?", a little voice asked. "Is that you?"

A second later, a dozen kids came running in from the doorway leading to the hall. They all came and hugged the black boy, who hugged them in return.

"What did you bring this time?", asked a little pigtailed girl.

"Did you manage to get some candy?" A short white-skinned boy.

"Where are the chili fries you promised us?" Another kid.

"And the cheesecake." A redhead tyke.

"And the fried shrimp."

"And the chili dogs."

"Whoa, whoa, kids.", Jerry stopped them. "I can't fulfill all those promises."

"You're back, Jerry.", a sweet voice said.

From the doorway to the hall, a blond-haired girl with glasses in a maid's uniform came into view.

"Ms. Delaney.", Jerry said sheepishly. "Nice to see you again."

"I just received a letter from the post office today. The letter stated it was for you."

"Really. Wait… How did the post office know I go here?" Sometimes, he sleeps at the orphanage. Other times, he braves the streets so as not to put the place at risk from potential sinister figures.

"I don't know either.", said Ms. Delaney as she gave him a glass bottle, which had a letter inside, along with a map of Radiant Garden. Jerry took out the letter and read it out loud.

"Dear Jerry Estevez,

You may not know who I am, but your assistance will be a great help to me. If you choose to accept, the worlds may be saved. For more details, I would like you to meet up with Sora Windsun, Riku Rivenhart, Kairi Earthsea, and whatever companions they may have. They will be at the Fountain Court. Use the city map attached to this message to find it. I hope to see you soon.

Sincerely,

King Mickey Mouse"

Jerry closed the letter and took out the map. He opened it and saw that it was indeed a map of Radiant Garden. On the map, the Fountain Court was marked by a circle with two other circles overlapping it. (4) He then put away the map into his pocket.

_Looks like I can't refuse this offer._, he thought, then turned to the kids and said, "Kids, I'm afraid I'll be gone for a while."

"Why?", asked one of the kids.

"I received a letter from a king.", Jerry explained. "It's not something I can turn down."

"Will you be back soon?", asked another kid.

"I will. Hasta la vista."

With that, Jerry left the orphanage and made his way to the Fountain Court, where the prelude to an adventure is about to begin.

-Yellow Travelers Chronicler- (5)

**Messerole**

_Neopets (2007)_

A Yellow Grundo. My third Neopet. He acts very friendly to others and likes to gather food.

**Aquanax**

_Neopets (2007)_

A Yellow Acara. My second Neopet. She smiles sweetly to others and likes to gather food.

**Euryflavia**

_Neopets (2007)_

A Yellow Usul. My fourth Neopet. She tried to make friends with whoever she meets and likes gathering food.

**Tychophon**

_Neopets (2007)_

A Yellow Shoyru. My first Neopet. He was once blue, but I painted him yellow. He approaches others with caution, and likes to read and learn.

**Prytarial Rosada**

_Neopets (2006)_

The leader of Team Terror Mountain.

**Montecito Gonzales**

_Neopets (2006)_

A member of Team Brightvale.

While he may look cute and innocent, he fights dirty and has a powerful tackle despite his size. He is also crafty and tenacious.

**Babolino Sparkeleye**

_Neopets (2006)_

A member of Team Faerieland.

Fast and energetic, he is known to hit hard and fast. However, he tends to lose focus, resulting in hard and fast hits against him as well.

**Volgoth Eljung**

_Neopets (2006)_

The leader of Team Mystery Island.

Despite his lack of technique and craftiness, he is a powerful combatant in his own right. While he seems to have a weak grammar, he possesses average intelligence.

**Foltaggio Binoshi**

_Neopets (2007)_

A member of Team Shenkuu.

He's a young and talented agent, and is rather strong despite his size although he easily gets frustrated. he reason he wears an eye-patch is not because of an accident, but to be able to see well in the dark.

(1) The same regular conference room that Sora and co. (me included, of course), found as we wandered around the Castle's interior.

(2) _Neopets Warden Force_.

(3) Thirteen, if you don't know.

(4) You know what I'm trying to portray; the Mickey symbol.

(5) Jiminy isn't here, so this is this chapter's "Journal". After all, There has been Riku's D Report.


	2. Chapter 1: First Stop, Radiant Garden

nightelf37: I wonder who'd make good voice actors for some of the characters I introduced at KHR2?

Onadi: Let's start with Xin.

nightelf37: Good idea. I'm thinking Justin Cause.

Onadi: You mean the VA of Dante from _Devil May Cry_?

nightelf37: Yeah. You got a problem with that?

Onadi: No. What about Autumnus?

nightelf37: Michael J. Hagerty.

Onadi: …Wait! I remember him as Sykes from that suck-tastic live-action _Inspector Gadget_ movie.

nightelf37: It's not suck-tastic!

Onadi: Okay. What about—

nightelf37: You know what? I'm just gonna continue on to the opening theme. I'll put in the 'credits' of the other guys later.

Onadi: Oh, all right.

nightelf37: Remember, only the OCs belong to me. This story will follow with the flow of my Kingdom Hearts Remake Retcon version series.

Random Fact: Ellen DeGeneres voiced Dory on the Pixar film _Finding Nemo_.

Chapter 1: First Stop, Radiant Garden

Part I. The Opening Theme

A boy dressed in a Barong Tagalog (1) walked in with a sheet of paper and made his way to a pulpit and stood behind it.

"What am I doing here again? Oh right. Readers, this is nightelf37, writer of the _Kingdom Hearts Remake_ series. If you've seen the 4th opening theme of _Naruto_, (not the dub), try to imagine the oncoming opening with that in mind as I'm 'using' the song as this story's opening. If you think this is crazy, I should let you know that Mrfipp (id no. 1177360) conceived the idea of voice actors for his original characters, which I'm also adapting just for fun. As I know I'm a rather little-known fanfic author, which two accusations of plagiarism already on my head, …There. Will. Be. No. Contests. Sit back and enjoy. I hope."

nightelf37 then left. Just before leaving, he says, "And by the way, as some of the story is in Rael's perspective, who is also me so to speak, his name will be censored by (-_-) so as to avoid pronoun confusions."

_Now Playing: Go! - Flow (TV Size) -a.k.a. Fighting Dreamers!-_

_(short instrumental)_

{flash panel of (-_-) with shield up like an umbrella, DirLuxGun aimed forward, fade to black; then flash two panels, one of Wizard aiming to the left with his GunDeLuna, the other of Kairi with her Destiny's Embrace, 'aiming' it to the right, fade to black; flash panel of Sora in classic Valor Form Stance; flash to Sora and zoom out to reveal the other three behind him, Jerry with them (2), and around them, (-_-)'s Neopets in battle stances}

_(We are Fighting Dreamers!) _

{transition of a column of crystalline rings crossing the screen from left to right, shift to panorama of scenes split like a comic, first panel consisting of Sora, (-_-), Wizard, Kairi, and Jerry looking to the left; as panorama scrolls to the right, at next (empty) panel, Sora jumps into it from 'outside', Ultima Weapon in hand}

_Takami wo mezashite_

{at the next panels, the top panel depicted Montecito and Babolino, the bottom Volgoth and Foltaggio}

_(Fighting Dreamers!) _

{at the next (empty) panel, (-_-) backflips into the panel and shoots forward before becoming 'part of the picture'}

_Narifuri kamawazu_

{at the next panels, the top panel depicted (-_-)'s four Neopets, the middle Wizard, Django, and a "Dark Boy" related to him, bottom panel showing Axel (3)}

_(Fighting Dreamers!)_

{at the next (empty) panel, Kairi twirls into it, Destiny's Embrace in her right hand}

_Shinjiru ga mama ni_

{at the next panels, the top one depicted King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, the lower left Riku and Jerry, the lower right Joe (4) and a white-haired woman}

_Oli Oli Oli Oh-! Just go my way!_

{last panel was of Fiorina aiming to the right, one of the crystal rings in the transition on hand}

_Right here Right now (Bang!)_

{in the regular fashion, the _Kingdom Hearts_ title appears, with a sylized _III _in the middle, then in glitters of gold, starting from the left, the words _The Heartless Syndicate_ appear, and then a yellow box slaps itself at the lower left reading _Remake_}

_Buppanase Like a dangan LINER!_

_Right here Right now (Burn!)_

{transition of flames to black; a shining Keyhole appears, then a transition of crystal rings}

_Kewashii shura no michi no naka Hito no chizu wo hirogete doko e yuku?_

{three groups gathered at Fountain Court of Radiant Garden, one group was of King Mickey, Django, Foltaggio, Babolino, Joe, and the white-haired woman, another group Riku, the "Dark Boy", Goofy, Donald, Volgoth, and Montecito, the third group Sora, Kairi, (-_-), Wizard, Axel, and Jerry}

_Gokusaishoku no karasu ga Sore wo ubaitotte yaburisuteta_

{diagonal comic line transition cuts to scene with one silhouette of a character, and twelve figures in white versions of the Black Coats, one was yellow-eyed and silver-haired, one had green orc-like skin, one a dark-skinned blonde, one short with a mask (5), one with green spiky hair, one who is a blue-eyed albino (6), one who is bald and dark-skinned, one who is grey-skinned with silver hair, one who is red-eyed and had cyan skin (7), one with robotic plating and purple hair, one redhead with grey eyes, and one with its hood down}

_Saa kokoro no me Mihiraite Shika to ima wo mikiwamero! _

{transition of crystal rings, show 'picture' panorama of the new Hellfire Club & Crescent Alliance, the following run from the left to right as the panorama scrolls from left to right (every two beats); the white-haired woman, G. I. Joe, King Mickey and Django, Donald and Goofy, the "Dark Boy" and Riku, Volgoth and Montecito, Foltaggio and Babolino}

_(Yeah!)_

{in front, at the same time, Tychophon pops in from the upper left corner of the 'screen', Aquanax from the upper right, Messerole from the lower right, and Euryflavia from the lower left, all of them raise their right hand up (or paw in Aquanax's case), then leave}

_Ushinau mono nante nai sa Iza mairou!_

{Axel, Wizard, (-_-), and Jerry run from left to right as panorama ends at Maleficent, Xin, Autumnus, and The Three Truants; Kairi and Sora run likewise and stop upon seeing Xin and Maleficent, as Sora and Kairi glared and made fists at them, then Jerry pops up from the right and 'pulls' them away}

_(We are Fighting Dreamers!) Takami wo mezashite_

{cut to the three groups together in a red backdrop, Mickey's at the right, Riku's at the left, and Sora's at the center; cut to this scenario: intending to run a horde of Heartless, Mickey runs forward with the Kingdom Key D, Foltaggio follows close with a Keyblade, Django fires his GunDelSol, Joe uses two Peashooter-like guns, the white-haired woman fires a bolt from her rifle, Babolino flies overhead with a gun-arm on one hand, and a Gun of Light on the other}

_(Fighting Dreamers!) Narifuri kamawazu_

{cut to last scene again; cut to this scenario: running a barricade of Nobodies, Riku rushes with the Way to the Dawn, Donald and Goofy running behind him with their weapons, Volgoth rushes with a Keyblade, Montecito fires his two guns, one of them a Gun of Light, the "Dark Boy" running forward with his weapon}

_(Fighting Dreamers!) Shinjiru ga mama ni_

{cut to last scene again, this time with a closer zoom on Sora's; cut to this scenario: Unversed (8) surrounding Sora, Kairi, Wizard, and Axel, who fight them off with difficulty; shift to scene of Jerry flairing with the Force as he kicks Nobody butt}

_Oli Oli Oli Oh-! Just go my way!_

{shift to scene of (-_-) with his four Neopets, their weapons ready, they were surrounded by Heartless; scenes flash, one of (-_-) shooting down a Heartless, Euryflavia sinking her vibro-mace on one of their heads, Messerole tossing his wind-and-fire wheel at another, Aquanax firing her cannon, Tychophon releasing an arrow from his bow, (-_-) and his Neopets doing various victory poses}

_Right here Right now (Bang!)_

{Sora and Kairi were charging forward with their Keyblades, Wizard, (-_-), and his Neopets behind them; zoom forward}

_Buppanase Like a dangan LINER!_

{shift to two panels, the left with a cluster of crystal rings, the right with Fiorina 'using' one of them}

_Right here Right now (Burn!)_

{scene of Axel eating a sea-salt ice cream bar, standing around the shops in Twilight Town, Hayner, Pence, and Olette a distance behind him; zoom forward}

_Buttakitteku ze Get the fire!_

{shift to three panels, the left with David, the right with Hayden, and the center with Joel, all of them prime their Fusils of Shadows}

_Right here Right now (Bang!)_

{scene of Naminé looking crestfallen, a white-coated figure behind her, the silhouetted figure with the white-coated figures staring at Naminé; zoom forward}

_Buppanase Like a dangan LINER!_

{shift to two panels, the upper one with Maleficent and Xin (hands together) on the left, the two silver-haired white-coated members on the right}

_Right here Right now (Burn!)_

{scene of twelve individuals; Sora, Django, and the "Dark Boy" in front, Mickey, Wizard, and Hayden behind them, Riku, (-_-), and David to the right, Kairi, Fiorina, and Joel to the right, zoom forward}

_Buttakitteku ze Get the fire! (Bang!)_

{shift to two panels, the third being as big as the first two combined, the first showing (-_-) holding up a crystal ring, the second Kairi looking concerned, the third Sora performing a Strike Raid right at the 'camera'; fade to white, then show a number of logos among them that of, FanFiction . Net, Nickelodeon, Disney, Square-Enix, and "Story Crew" emblem}

A movie projector turns off, revealing to have played the opening theme.

"And that's it.", nightelf37 says from the stage exit. "On with the story!"

Part II. Reunions and Introductions

It was a slow cruise to Radiant Garden on board the Estrella, with Kairi on the controls, having been taught lessons on Gummi Ship flying during her 'stay' in Neopia, and Wizard flying the Falcon next to us. As the other Neopets, both mine and my companions, lounged about, I thought about the new stuff I was given.

Because of the battle against Black Ranger and his Anarchy Ultrazord, upon later inspection, it turns out that my Delta Device has broken down and cannot be used for a while. I left it behind to the Neopets Agency to have it fixed for another adventure. In return, their research team had investigated on the coins that helped me enter my Option Modes and given me a couple more coins like them for me to test out. There were also a couple of Summon Charms given to me as well, a few of them resembling red-and-white balls. As for the Summon Power Orbs with the Heartfuls, the research team took them for study as well.

Finally, we made it to the space above Radiant Garden and we made our way to the Transwarp Room (9), where we then teleported down to the place. Upon looking around, we saw that the place has changed almost completely. Last time Kairi and I were here, it was under reconstruction. Now, it was a thriving metropolis. My four Neopets looked in awe as they saw the technology level of the city.

"This place sure has changed. Right, Rael?.", said Kairi as a Chocobo-driven carriage bypassed us. (10)

"Sure has.", I agreed. "I wonder where's the city map?"

"This look like it."

We turned to Volgoth, who was pointing at a map on a bulletin board. We all walked to is

"We're supposed to head for the postern.", Babolino said as we all looked at the map, him and Tychophon hovering beside our heads.

"Here postern.", Volgoth said.

"And we're here.", Wizard as he pointed at the map.

"How do you know?", Tychophon asked.

"There's a circle that reads 'You Are Here'. It's a public map after all."

"Oh, right."

KHKHKHKHKH

Later…

The twelve of us made our way to the postern, where we saw a message. Kairi took it, seeing that it was for her, and read it. After a while, she closed it and said to us, "Sora and Riku say that we should meet at the Fountain Court. (11)"

"Then let's go!", Foltaggio said. "We can't keep them waiting."

Thankfully, it didn't take long for us to find the Fountain Court, which was a very beautiful place. The stone walls were lined with growing vegetation and the fountains were very beautiful, reflecting the pink-purple sky. Sora and Riku were waiting near the fountain's base.

"Hey there, guys!", Sora waved.

"Sora!", Kairi gasped as she quickly ran down the stairs and hugged the two of them.

"Hey, Wizard!", Riku greeted the Techo. "How're you?"

"Just fine, Riku."

"Nice to see you again, Rael.", Sora greeted me.

"You too, Sora."

"Who are these guys?", Riku asked, indicating the others.

KHKHKHKHKH

After half an hour, we introduced the two Kacheeks, the two Myncis, and my four Neopets to Sora and Riku. Of course, the two were introduced to them as well. We were also introduced to Data Sora, who was given to Mickey in a PDA after he debugged Jiminy's Journal. Also, Sora and Riku told us about the Mark of Mastery Exam and Sora's reconnect quest.

Every few minutes, Data Sora ranted, "Hey Sora! Listen! To yourself! HAHA!" For some reason, we were able to keep our temper despite how annoying he was.

I didn't bother remembering much of the details, but what I did remember is that Aqua was in the Realm of Darkness (this happened to be the girl Vitri and Pollonaire encountered while there). Ansem the Wise has ended up there as well, and this news surprised me, Wizard, and Kairi since we thought he died in the explosion of his Kingdom Hearts Encoder. I asked what happened to Chosen One, but neither of them could say anything. Ventus's body is somewhere in Castle Oblivion, which hasn't always been a base for Organization XIII. Ven's heart resided in Sora, as did Roxas and (memory refreshed by Data Naminé) Xion. Naminé, of course, resided in Kairi.

After that whole explanation, Foaltggio asked as he tapped his foot. "So how long do we have to wait for the king, you think?"

"I don't know." said Riku, "I could be a while but…"

"Anyway, have you two finished your schoolwork?", Kairi asked him and Sora.

Before either could answer, the thirteen of us were ambushed by Shadows, Dusks, and one other kind of creature we never faced before. They were sleek, humanoid creatures with blue skin, arms and legs ending in points without distinct digits, a triangular head with two long, jagged, lightning bolt-shaped antennae, and red eyes set in an angry expression. They all moved in a jerking, twitchy motion as they cornered us to the fountain.

"Okay.", Montecito said. "So the black ones are Heartless, the silver ones are Nobodies, but what are the blue ones?"

"I'm as clueless as you are, Montecito.", Sora answered.

"Same here.", added Riku.

"In any case, we should fight, right?", asked Messerole as he brought out his wind-and-fire wheel.

"You said it.", Wizard answered as everyone else brought their weapons out. We all battled. As usual, Sora rushed at them head-on. Riku did hit-and-run, which consisted of slashing forward, then jumping back to avoid an attack. Kairi followed Riku's example, but did it other way around; dodge, then strike. Wizard fired away with his GunDeLuna, dodge-rolling any attacks headed for him.

Euryflavia swung her vibro-mace around as she rushed the Shadows, Tychophon supporting her from above by shooting down anyone who tries to attack her from behind. Messerole swung his weapon about, taking out anyone who approached Aquanax, who was firing her cannon.

Volgoth rushed in like Sora, Keyblade in hand. _Wait! What?_, I thought to myself. _He has a Keyblade?_

This Keyblade had a motif of one particular spherical creature. The teeth of the Keyblade resembled two of those creatures with their mouths open, one small pointed upward at the tip, and a bigger one situated where the 'teeth' would be. The shaft consisted of four colored 'ghosts' stacked one on top of the other, the bottom one connected to the round guard, which had two medium white spheres on either side of it. The Keychain resembled that of one of the ghosts. I would later find out its name to be the Spirit Belcher.

As I shot down a couple of Dusks, I saw that Foltaggio had one too, and he was swinging it around like a pro. This Keyblade's shaft was like a katana, and would very well be one were it not for the teeth that looked like kunai. Its guard resembled a wind-blade shuriken, and the Keychain resembled another kunai. It's name is Sealed Weapon.

Babolino was using what looked like a pink version of Barret's old Gun-Arm. It turned out to be detachable as both his hands were perfectly fine. As he fired sparkling bullets, Montecito was using a blaster of sorts that fired goo. As the goo hit the Dusks he was aiming for, it seemed to corrode and destroy them, though it did not seem to continue to the ground.

This fight continued for several minutes. While the Heartless, Nobodies, and blue creatures were not very strong, they were numerous. For every one we took down, another one took its place.

"Just great.", Messerole complained as he got back his wind-and-fire wheel after he threw it at an oncoming Dusk. "They keep spawning like… like…"

"In any case, we can't fool around any longer.", Wizard said as he dodged another attack from one of the blue creatures.

"I got an idea!", Babolino said as he summoned orbs of light and shot them into the air. He then summoned…a Gun of Light, which appeared in his other hand, called PixieShot. It was colored pinkish-purple, and he fired little spheres of light (more like sparks) from it. These sparks hit the orbs and they exploded in light, dissolving the Heartless and Nobodies in light. Some of the blue creatures, however, stuck around.

"Nice work there.", Montecito said as he tackled one of the blue creatures who was coming at him from the side.

"Guys? Who are those?", Tychophon asked as he pointed somewhere in the distance. I turned to look and I saw that they wore strange metal helmets with three red lights on top, formed like a triangle. Their eyes were also somehow concealed in them. They had rifles slung over their shoulders and had kneecaps and shoulder plating on their dark blue uniforms. (12)

"Must be the local police force.", Babolino assumed. "We could use their help."

Just as they were about to reach the Fountain Court, the first officer bumped into a Beehive Barrier that surrounded the area.

"That's not good." said Riku as the other officers bumped into it as well.

"What's that?", Babolino asked as the others continued to fight the blue creatures.

"A Fighter Limit Barrier, but I call it the Beehive Barrier.", I explained. "It keeps anybody from entering or exiting it."

"Why call it Beehive Barrier?", Volgoth asked as he vanquished one of the creatures, which was consumed in a dark flame, compared to the Nobodies, which are enveloped in light, or the Heartless, which 'collapse' into mere darkness, sometimes releasing a Heart.

"Because it's designed with hexagons rather than merely part-spherical."

"Okay."

"Me sense someone.", Volgoth said. "Someone evil."

"You guess right.", a mysterious voice said.

All of a sudden just as we finished off the last of the blue creatures, a Dark Corridor appeared, on top of the fountain and somebody in what is basically the white version of the Black Coat emerged from it. The figure took off its hood and we saw that this person had long, flowing silver hair, purple skin, and yellow eyes.

"Well hello there." it said.

"A Nobody?", sneered Wizard.

"You guess right." I palmed my face for some reason.

"An unknown member of Organization XIII that we missed?", Sora guessed, anger on his face.

"You guess ri—I beg your pardon! Where is it said that the Organization is the only group with strong-willed Nobodies?"

"…"

"Didn't think so. I see you have managed to defeat the Unversed. Although I didn't expect to see so many of you here."

"Unversed?", Aquanax asked. "What are they?"

"Why should I tell someone who's about to be finished off? Before I do that, I'll be kind enough to give you my name for you to remember in the afterlife."

"What might this name be?", Foltaggio asked.

"…Shazed." Shazed then snapped his fingers and more Heartless appeared.

"Shazed?", I asked, not knowing why. "What is that an X-anagram of? There isn't even an X in it."

"Just because I'm a Nobody doesn't mean my new name should be an X-anagram of my original. That trend applies **only** to Organization XIII. Now, enough useless talk!"

Shazed then summoned a black polearm and rushed at us, starting with Riku. Even as the purple-skinned man attacked with breakneck speed, Riku was able to block them with little difficulty. Shazed then jammed his polearm to the floor and dark energy pulsated from it, sending shockwaves all around. As most of us were pushed about, as he fought the oncoming Heartless, Foltaggio made a stance. All of a sudden, as Shazed started to head for Riku again, he seemed to be stuck to the ground.

"What?", he gasped as he pulled his polearm from the ground and removed the darkness…revealing a shadow that seemed to bind his with Foltaggio's.

"Shadow binding, eh?", he sneered at the Mynci. "Clever of you to use my dark attack to pull that off." Against my intents, Euryflavia came down on him, but he blocked the attack with his weapon, and pushed her off, sending her right smack into a horde of Heartless. "But that won't stop this!"

Shazed launched a sphere of darkness at Foltaggio, but Riku blocked the blow with his Dark Shield.

"I sense darkness in you.", Shazed told him.

"How—"

"Why are you, a denizen of the dark, with these 'good guys'?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Users of the dark are evil, yet you're not evil. Why is that so? Oh, don't answer. You were _once_ evil, and then you turned to the good side, am I right?"

"And if I am?", Riku asked as he tightened his grip on the Way to the Dawn.

"Then you must die!" With sheer willpower, Shazed broke free of Foltaggio's Shadow Bind, knocking the Mynci off balance, and headed straight for Riku, who blocked his attacks. As the two exchanged blows, Shazed was then hit by a blob of goo from Montecito. It didn't corrode on him like it did with the Dusks, but it hurt him real good as he got himself involved with the rest of us.

During this mayhem, Sora found Shazed trying to attack Wizard. He performed Strike Raid at him, knocking him over. Kairi was about to bring her Keyblade down on him when he sunk into the floor using the darkness. Shazed then reappeared behind and was about to strike her when a poofy cloud appeared between them…and Shazed's polearm caught by a rod of sorts. It was wielded by a dark-skinned boy in a black shirt and a red cape with a hood up. On his other hand was another one of those 'rods'.

"I guess no one's told you it's impolite to hit girls, eh?" he said.

As I looked at him, I had an idea on who he was. He quickly used his other 'saber' to hit Shazed, who dodged the attack. The boy then hugged Kairi and they vanished in a poofy cloud.

"Kairi!", yelled Sora.

"Don't worry.", I assured him.

There was another cloud poof and Sora turned to his right. Sure enough, there was Kairi and the boy. As he let go of her, he turned to Sora and said, "I'm guessing you need help?"

"We sure do…Jerry, was it?", I answered.

"Yup. Told you we'd meet again."

"You know this guy?", Sora asked me.

"Uh-huh. Met him once before during the Battle of X000 Heartless, when I sent Goofy back to the HBRCHQ when the rest of you thought he was dead."

Shazed was really getting annoyed right now and yelled, "Who the hell to you think you are?"

Jerry took down his hood and introduced himself. "Jerry Estevez, member of the late Royal Guardians of Radiant Garden."

"One more won't stop me.", Shazed said as he charged for—

"I got it!" A giant fireball flew in front of him and exploded.

"Come on!" A shield spun through the air and he deflected it. It was then followed by a short beam of light which hit him in the head. Then one of darkness that barely hit Shazed's side. He was then pelted by a couple of little fireballs, which was followed by a bolt of energy. Finally, a pair of flaming chakrams struck him down. I turned to where the attack came from to see a Dark Corridor disappear behind seven figures. Those figures headed our way as they dealt with the last of the Heartless.

"Donald! Goofy!", yelled Sora.

"Django!", yelled Wizard.

"Mickey!", yelled Riku.

"Joe!", yelled I (13).

The sixth figure had white skin, red eyes, purple hair, and clothes of black, black boots with spikes, and a periwinkle tattered scarf in comparison to Django's red.

The seventh figure had white hair in short bobs, silver futuristic armor, black gauntlets, shining knee and elbow caps, white combat boots, long silver socks, worker earmuffs (currently not worn), an a jetpack. She also held an futuristic rifle that looked like it fired energy bolts. Lining it were seven gems, one square ruby, one hexagonal garnet, one (smaller) square topaz, one octagonal emerald, one diamond-shaped sapphire, one triangular amethyst, and one spherical diamond.

"Wait.", Montecito said. "Who threw the flaming chakrams?"

"They're not chakrams!", Messerole countered.

The Kacheek's question was answered as a very familiar figure emerged from a Dark Corridor and came up from behind Sora.

"Yo, Sora.", he said. "It's been a while."

"A-A-Axel?", Sora managed to gasp. Kairi was speechless. I was moderately dumbstruck.

"Now this is way too much for one to handle.", Shazed complained. "I best be off." With that, he disappeared inside a Dark Corridor and the Beehive Barrier dissipated, allowing the cops to come in. And the first thing they did, since the enemy was dealt with, was—

"You're under arrest!", one of them declared to Jerry, who drew his sabers in a fighting stance.

"Huh?" I was confused. "What did you do, Jerry?" The dark-skinned boy just sighed.

"Stop!", yelled Mickey. "He is not to be arrested."

"What, Your Majesty?", replied one of the cops.

"He is to come with us."

"I see." These officers knew that if a king wanted a criminal, he would get him. They saluted the King, then went on their way.

"Thank you, Your Majesty.", said Jerry with a bow.

"Your Majesty!", Kairi greeted.

"Hey guys! How've you been!", said the small monarch.

"Who are these people?", Kairi pointed out Joe, the white-haired woman, and the purple-clothed boy. "And how did Axel come back?"

"We can get to the introductions and explanations later, but first we have to discuss important matters. We can talk about them on the way and after lunch. Are there any good places to eat around here?"

"I know of a good place.", Jerry stated. "You are King Mickey, am I correct?"

"Yes I am. And you must be Jerry, right?" The boy nodded. "Good, now we have everyone."

Suddenly, I experienced something I never thought I'd feel again; a vision.

_-vision-_

Somewhere far from Radiant Garden.

"I believe I discovered where she is.", said Shazed.

Ten of his eleven companions gasped in shock from what they heard. The one who didn't merely made a thoughtful face. Looks like the plans were to continue after all.

_-end vision-_

Like all the other times before, I didn't tell anybody about it.

Part III. The Plan

Many of us had numerous questions. What were the Unversed? Who is the pale-skinned boy? Who is the white-haired woman? And how is Axel alive?

Turns out there were also questions for us. Who are the four new companions accompanying us? And who are the four yellow 'Neopets' who were with me? How is it that two of the Neopets got Keyblades? Are they really Keyblades?

All of these were eventually answered, but not necessarily in order.

The pale-skinned boy in purple was Sabata, the Dark Boy, and a relative of Django.

"Our ancestral namesakes are brothers.", he reminded the Solar Boy. "We…are just cousins."

"Okay, Sabata. Don't need to keep reminding me."

The white-haired woman was Crystal White, an acquaintance of Joe's in his younger days who sailed across the stars as a mercenary. She was suggested to this quest by him, who also wanted to go on an adventure.

"My home?", he said as I asked him about that. "Don't worry. Crazy as he might be, Crazy Dave can maintain it while I'm gone."

"Okay."

Mickey explained the reason how Axel was able to return. Since he and his Original's Heartless have been vanquished, the latter sometime during our quest to stop Organization XIII and Anarchy Force, both halves have reconstructed the Original Lea, leading to his return. Even though he's not Axel any more than Sora is Roxas or Xehanort is Xemnas, he has somehow retained his Nobody's memories and powers and even believes and feels he was Axel.

After being introduced to the eight new Neopets, Mickey then asked how are two of them wielding Keyblades and one a Gun of Light, Wizard cut in and said that he will explain later.

Jerry then introduced himself to us and we did likewise, me included as I never gave my name when I first met him.

As we bypassed a shop (named Recettear, which I noted for some reason), he introduced us to a recently opened fast food restaurant called Kentucky Fried McBurger King. (14)

_What a mashup of the stores from my world._, I thought to myself as we looked at the store.

"Alright then.", said Mickey. "Let's eat. I'm paying for everybody."

We entered the fast food store and made our way to the counter. The cashier greeted us warmly, not thinking of most of us as weird. After all, what would you think if you saw an anthropomorphic mouse, duck, dog, gecko, monkey, and two other 'furries', not to mention a cat with two strange appendages next to its ears, a rabbit-squirrel hybrid, a small dragon, and an alien?

"Welcome to Kentucky Fried McBurger King, sir. May I take your order?"

"I'll have a roast beef sandwich!" Sora.

"I'l have a tuna melt." Riku.

"What he's having." Euryflavia.

"A fruit salad for me." Kairi.

"What **she's** having." Montecito.

"Two servings of lasagna." Me.

"A club sandwich.", Aquanax.

"Just a plain omelette." Tychophon.

"Fried fish." Volgoth.

"A bowl of ramen." Foltaggio. (15)

"I'll have a cheese sandwich." King Mickey.

"Two slices of apple pie." Donald.

"Same as him." Babolino.

"Chicken salad for me, a-hyuck." Goofy.

"Two chili dogs." Django.

"Veggie burger." Sabata.

"Jumbo hotdog sandwich." Joe.

"A serving of tempura. Fried shrimp." Crystal.

"Pepperoni pizza, two slices." Lea.

"I'll have two, too." Wizard.

"Me too." Messerole.

"Me? I'll have one 'Baconator' burger." Jerry. "And…"

KHKHKHKHKH

There wasn't enough room in the diner for the twenty-two of us, which was twice that of the Lumus Squad that fought against the Crescent Alliance and Organization XIII, and that consisted of Sora, Donald, Goofy, me, six of the seven members of Team Meridell, and Kairi, making eleven. Because of that, we had to take-out our order. As we walked the streets of Radiant Garden, carrying our food (and more ordered by Jerry), Jerry led us to an run-down orphanage, went up to the door, and knocked on it. It was answered by a blond girl with glasses in a maid's uniform.

"Jerry.", she greeted. "Who are these wonderful people with you?"

"Hello, Ms. Delaney. This is the King who sent the letter to me." Jerry indicated King Mickey.

Ms. Delaney curtsied in front of the monarch and said, "It's an honor to meet you, Your Majesty."

"Likewise. Is this where Jerry lives?"

"Most of the time."

"Most of the time?"

"I'll explain later. Please come in."

KHKHKHKHKH

Inside the orphanage, we sat around the big table in the dining room. Eating with us were about a dozen kids.

"So that's why Jerry ordered lots of food.", Django realized as we all dug in. As we had our meal, the kids were occasionally playing with my Neopets, Ms. Delaney was explaining to King Mickey what she knows about Jerry, the NA agents (including Wizard) were making small talk with the others, and Kairi was talking to Riku and Sora. As for me, as I didn't exactly have really good social skills, I ate my food slowly, savoring the taste. Although on occasion, somebody would talk to me, and I'd answer their questions accordingly. Other than that, I didn't talk much.

After we all finished our meal, Mickey asked to have the room for ourselves for a while, and Ms. Delaney accepted. After she and an elderly man named Mr. Dotson led the little kids out, Riku turned to the King.

"So, Your Majesty.", asked Riku. "Why are we here?"

"To be totally honest, I'm not completely sure myself.", replied the king.

"What?", gasped Jerry.

"Allow me to explain. After I returned to the castle, I had a dream."

"A dream?", asked Babolino.

"Yes. I was on a stain glass platform." Sora and I listened intently, having once had a dream like that before. "In the dream, I was confronted by three figures in monk's robes. One of them seemed to be of the same race as Pollonaire, who once traveled with Sora and company."

"Neopets?", Volgoth whispered to Foltaggio.

"One was in black robes, his head resembling that of a wolf, his fur was purple, he had black hair, and he called himself David.", the King continued. "The one who had a likeness to Pollonaire was colored orange, had yellow hair, and was named Hayden. The third reminded me of a toad…or frog, his skin seemed to be a perfect split between orange and purple, he had brown hair, and his name was Joel. They told me Wizard would deliver something very important."

"What?" asked Sora.

"These.", Wizard said as he pulled out the bag from his back and emptied it. Out came three shining boxes. They all had a tube-like protrusion on one side. The side to its left were two lights. On the top was what looked like a crystal ring.

"What are those?" asked Kairi.

"It's supposed to classified, but…they are dispensers for what are called Crystal Rings.", he explained.

"Crystal Rings?"

"If given to the right person, they can grant him/her/it the power to wield a Keyblade, a Gun of Light, or a Fusil of Shadows."

"You've heard of the Fusils of Shadows?", Mickey interrupted.

"Yes. I was told about them in a dream by one of such wielders as you've seen."

"What?", asked Sora. "Why do we have to do this?"

"From what I have been told, something horrible will happen and many of these wielders will be needed to combat it.", Mickey answered Sora.

"What is it?", asked Aquanax. "What's so horrible that will happen?"

"I don't know, but it was prophesied by the Goddess of Order Cosmos.", said the king.

"Might I ask how are these Crystal Rings made?", Crystal asked Wizard. "From what I see here in this contraption, it seems to be artificial. Are you sure there will be no entities or any such bringing down their divine wrath upon you or anything like that?"

"No. As a matter of fact, an entity came and actually approved of this. As for how these were made, it was when one of our agents, Sir Pollonaire, took interest in the Keyblades and the Guns of Light and gathered data."

"When was this?", I asked.

"During the conflict against Organization XIII and Anarchy Force. And when Kairi was training in Neopia while Sora and Riku took the Mark of Mastery Exam."

"What else is there about the Crystal Rings?", Crystal asked.

"After defeating Xemnas and coming home, the data was sent to our research team. After 9 months, the Crystal Rings were made. From what we found out, only Keyblade wielders, Gunners of Light, and presumably Fusiliers of Shadows can use these rings. We tested these on some of our agents and…well, that's how Foltaggio and Volgoth got Keyblades." Said two summoned theirs. "Babolino got a Gun of Light and so did Montecito." The former brought out his and so did the latter, which was black-and-white and was called SkunkFire.

There were also oohs and aahs from everyone as they took all of this in.

"So all we have to do is give the Crystal Rings to the right people and we're done.", Sora said joyfully as he stood up. "Let's go and find them. Where are they?"

"All over the worlds.", Mickey answered. Sora was a little shocked from this and he sat down again.

"Well, how are we going to find them all?", asked Riku. "And why are there three dispensers?"

"Sorry, but these were all that we managed to manufacture from the limited and rare resources required.", Wizard said. "We got plenty of rings though. Guess we'll have to split into three groups."

"We need three Gummi Ships, then.", Volgoth said.

"Let's see…", Messerole thought. "We got the Falcon. That makes one. Then we have the Estrella. That makes two."

"And we have the Monarch.", added Donald. "That makes three!"

"Okay. So we got the means to do the quest.", Jerry said. "But what will be the teams?"

"We'll have to discuss about that.", said Sabata.

"Oh yeah. Almost forgot.", the King said. "In the mural where I confronted the Fusiliers of Shadows, I saw you there alongside the three on the mural. Do you have any connection with the three?"

Sabata didn't answer.

KHKHKHKHKH

After a little more discussion on other topics (as well as unlocking a new power of some kind), we left the orphanage, our teams decided. The first one was led by King Mickey, and with him were Django, Babolino, Foltaggio, Joe, and Crystal. The second team was led by Riku, and with him were Donald, Goofy, Sabata, Montecito, and Volgoth. The third team was led by Sora, and with him were Kairi, Wizard, Lea, Jerry, and me (and by extension, my four Neopets). Everybody had agreed with this, but Jerry had a condition and a favor. The condition was that his crime record of him by the RGPD (Radiant Garden Police Department) be cleared, and the favor was that the orphanage be financially backed until it was of middle-class condition. Seeing the orphanage's and Jerry's situation and past, King Mickey decided to accept.

Each group took a dispenser, and left for their separate Gummi Ships. Riku took Data Sora with him for an undisclosed reason. Just before leaving, Crystal gave me a little something out of wood. I took it and my shield appeared on my right hand. It then changed into a shield out of what looked like wood (also feeling the shield trinket in my pocket change). It was slightly larger than my old one, and the 'front' seemed to be lined with cherry blossom petals, pointed in a way as if they were spikes.

"This shield is made out of wood from SCP-143."

"SCP-143?", I asked.

"It's from a company called the Special Containment Procedures (SCP) Foundation. They call it the Bladewood Grove. Their wood can withstand temperatures of 1800 degrees Celsius, tougher and lighter than titanium, and the petals are deadly sharp, believe me. Also, I'd like to give you this."

Crystal gave me a little trinket that looked like a cyan-colored blob-like creature with a black tail that has two eye-spots on it, flipper-like arms, four legs, and a crooked expression.

"Wait…doesn't this look like—", I thought.

"This trinket can be applied to anything, but it's for your shield. When applied, for around ten seconds, whatever it's attached to will turn into that thing and reflect **any** attacks right back at the attacker. After that, it has to charge for an hour."

"Why are you giving these stuff to me?", I asked. "Lately, I seem to be given lots of useful stuff."

"Well, if you don't want them, you could always give it to somebody else. Who said you had to keep them all to yourself?"

"Oh, right."

"Hey, Crystal!", Joe called, who was gathered with Mickey and the others. "Let's go already!"

"Coming!"

With that, Crystal joined her companions and they teleported to the Monarch. Riku and Co. did the same, but to the Estrella instead. It was now our turn to leave.

"Thank you.", Kairi said to Jerry.

"For what?"

"For saving me from Shazed."

"Oh, no problem."

"Oh yeah, Jerry.", I said to him. "I didn't get to see a lot from you. What else are you capable of?"

Jerry stepped forward and brought out his training sabers to show for all of us.

"You see, while these might not look like much, these can render any limb it strikes numb as if I cut it clean off.", Jerry explained. "I also harness the Force."

"Like Sir Pollonaire.", Kairi said to Sora.

"However, I also use some of the…darker aspects of it. In addition to powers akin to telekinesis, like moving stuff and such, mind tricks, and Force healing, the latter two being Light side powers, I can do Force Lightning." Jerry raised his hand up and shot a single blue lightning bolt into the sky.

"Force Choke, wehre I can…choke others from a distance with less difficulty than doing it by hand." We nodded upon understanding. "Force Destruction, which I can only use for a few times." He concentrated a moderate amount of energy and shot it at a group of trash cans, destroying one and pushing asunder the adjacent ones.

"Traumatize others with Force Fear, a dark version of the mind trick, which I will not demonstrate. I can also do Force Maelstrom, like this." He curled himself up, storing energy as loose dirt began to swirl around the 'bubble around him. He then 'unleashed' the energy he welled up inside, pushing back everything around him, strong enough to have us stumble.

"Force Slow, which work pretty much like Slow magic. Then there's the Spear of Midnight Black, which creates an invisible spear I can hurl at opponents."

"There's also his poofy-cloud teleportation, which I think is not a Force power.", I added.

"You're right.", Jerry said. "We should get going now. How do we get to the Gummi Ships?"

"Like this." said Wizard as he took out a remote device with one button. "Come here and everyone hold hands." We all did as told and once he pressed the button, we were now on the Falcon.

Gummi Ship Time: Random Stuff (15)

As Sora, Kairi, and I showed the rest the Gummi Ship to Lea and Jerry, I saw the latter ask a question.

"Excuse me, Kairi. But have we met?"

"I don't think so?", replied Kairi. "Why?"

"Nothing. I just feel like we've seen each other once before."

"Sorry, but this is the first time I met you."

"Okay then." He said nothing more of this. "Have me met?", he whispered to himself.

"Wait a second. What's that thing?", Lea asked.

I looked and saw a stand of sorts sitting on a shelf. It held a computer chip and three dishes with three different kinds of food.

"Oh, that?", I said. "I don't know how he got here, but he's an adoptable of mine. His name is Gallico, and he's a Varanius I."

"What does he do?", Wizard asked.

"Nothing so far as he's in his Beta stage. Please feed him once a day. All of you, okay?"

"Uhh, sure."

"Okay."

"Whatever."

"Got it memorized."

"Thank you.", I said.

-Yellow Travelers Chronicler- (Sora and me)

-Data Sora's PDA- (Riku)

-Jiminy's Journal- (Mickey)

**G. I. Joe**

_OC for Plants vs Zombies (2009)_

A gardener who owns a variety of strange attack plants in his garden. He decided to come so he can see the various worlds outside Radiant Garden.

**Crystal White**

_OC for Bejeweled (2001)_

A galactic mercenary who is an acquaintance of Joe. She came under Joe's advice and got interested. She wields a rifle that shoots energy bolts.

**Sabata Elacsyerg**

_Boktai: The Sun is in Your Hand (2003)_

Django's older relative. Mickey stated that upon meeting the Fusiliers of Shadows, he saw him among them on the mural they were on, hinting some connection. What could it be?

**Lea Hergeiz**

A Resident of Radiant Garden who was turned into a Heartless in the first invasion of Radiant Garden, resulting in the manifestation of his Nobody Axel. Lea was brought back after his Heartless and Axel ceasd to exist. For some reason, he has his Nobody's memories.

**Jerry Estevez**

An acquaintance of mine during the Battle of X000 Heartless. Like one familiar friend, he uses 'the Force', although he also uses what he claims to be the darker aspects of it. He also seems to have encountered Kairi before, a sense of déjà vu, but what significant relationship do they have?

**Gallico**

_Valenth (adopted in 2009)_

A Varanius I with a calm personality in his beta stage (a computer chip). I own him, but I don't know how he got into our Gummi Ship, or who brought him there.

(1) I live in the Philippines, and this is its national clothing.

(2) As with all openings, spoilers are abound.

(3) Yes, Axel returns from the 'dead'. Not as a zombie, of course.

(4) Yup. That one-shot character in Chapter 53 of Kingdom Hearts Remake, where Jerry was also given an early bird cameo, will be in this story as a side character.

(5) This mask is like that worn by a familiar character who leaves after it's broken, presumably because he is, despite his seriousness, just as cute as the one he's a mentor of.

(6) Despite the impossibility, it's because she (yes, she) is not an albino. I just said that to show how pale she is.

(7) Think Mr. Freeze from _Batman_.

(8) Yes, I'm featuring Unversed, which are supposedly extinct after Vanitas' demise. The source will be shown later on in the story. If it gets that far before somebody accuses me for plagiarizing. Again.

(9) I theorize that every Gummi Ship has a Transwarp Room for teleporting people down to worlds as the Gummi Ship shuts down and renders itself immune to hijacking.

(10) Radiant Garden is Final Fantasy-based, so I have these Chocobos take the place of horses.

(11) Check the Kingdom Hearts Wiki on Radiant Garden to see what it exactly looks like. It's an area in KH:BBS. Also, if examined closely, it can be noted that Radiant Garden Shops present in Kingdom Hearts II were actually built on the site of the former Fountain Courtyard. In this fic, I'm going through it as if that isn't the case. Or you could think of the 'new' Fountain Court as not the one from BBS.

(12) Imagine the Shinra infantrymen in _Final Fantasy VII_.

(13) Running gag much?

(14) Yes. I'm inserting places from other games just for the heck of it. One of them will be returned to later in the story.

(15) What? I can't think of a better one. And I know I'm making too many of these notes. Wow. A new record. At least for me.

nightelf37: And here are the credits.

Prologue

_Hayden Panettiere as Kairi_

_Sasha Williams as Fiorina (Kelsie from Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue)_

_nightelf37 as Rael (as he is me, I won't put any other voice actor for him *wink*)_

_Barry Gordon as Messerole (Donatello from the 1987 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)_

_Cree Summer as Aquanax (Penny from Inspector Gadget)_

_Annette Toutonghi as Euryflavia (the titular character of the Freddi Fish series)_

_Jake T. Austin as Tychophon (Diego from Go Diego Go)_

_James Napier as Wizard (Conner from Power Rangers Dino Thunder)_

_Kelson Henderson as Montecito (recurring VA in the Power Rangers series)_

_Bill Duncan as Babolino (another recurring VA in the Power Rangers series)_

_Dee Bradley Baker as Volgoth (known for many voices)_

_Selwyn Ward as Foltaggio (TJ from Power Rangers Turbo)_

_Bret Iwan as Mickey (rest in peace, Wayne Allwine)_

_Carlos Alazraqui as Joel (the titular character of Spyro the Dragon)_

_Marc Thompson as David (Casey Jones from the 2003 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)_

_Rachael Lillis as Hayden (Misty from the Pokémon series)_

_Susanne Blakeslee as Maleficent_

_Jim Cummings as Pete_

_Justin Cause as Xin (Dante from Devil May Cry)_

_Michael J. Hagerty as Autumnus (Sykes from the Inspector Gadget movie)_

_Dom Deluise as Biggs (Tiger in An American Tail)_

_Terri Hawkes as Jessie (Serena in the English dub of Sailor Moon)_

_Cam Clarke as Wedge (Leonardo from the 1987 series of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)_

_-Well, Leon has a VA. Might as well put in VAs for the other FF8 characters, the cutscenes of which were voiceless-_

_Matt Hill as Zell (the titular character of Martin Mystery)_

_Bill Hader as Irvine (Gen. Custer as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian)_

_America Ferrera as Rinoa (Astrid in How to Train Your Dragon)_

Chapter 1

_Haley Joel Osment as Sora_

_David Gallagher as Riku_

_Latham Gaines as Shazed (Mesogog from Power Rangers Dino Thunder)_

_Chris Brown as Jerry (Come on, can't I use a song artist for a VA? Jesse McCartney voiced Roxas)_

_Tony Anselmo as Donald Duck_

_Bill Farmer as Goofy_

_Amy Kudo as Django (got this from the TaiyouWiki)_

_Kimberly Forsythe as Sabata (got this from the TaiyouWiki, too)_

_David Hayter as G.I. Joe (Solid Snake from Metal Gear Solid)_

_Priscilla Everett as Crystal (Alexis Rhodes from the English dub of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX)_

_Quinton Flynn as Lea_

nightelf37: Hope you like them.

Onadi: I sure do.

nightelf37: I didn't ask you. Stay tuned!


	3. Chapter 2: TCO: Ant Inventor

nightelf37: I know that I haven't finished Kingdom Hearts Remake 2 yet, but I just can't help it. So much I want to do, so litle time to do them. I won't promise I'll finish KHR2 before making another chapter in this.

Hayden: Okay, so what's with the chapter titles below?

nightelf37: How—oh, never mind. You see, Hayden, I'm afraid I will be adding a little hint on which character will be getting a Keyblade, Gun of Light, or—

David: Fusil of Shadows?

nightelf37: Yes. Wait! How— Oh, forget it.

Joel: What's does TCO stand for?

nightelf37: It stands for "The Chosen One(s)".

Hayden: Ones?

nightelf37: Wherever did it state that I'll only select one per world, huh?

The three Fusiliers of Shadows say nothing.

nightelf37: Anyway, remember, only the OCs belong to me.

Hayden: What about the plot.

nightelf37: Oh, right. It's mine too. Except in wherever the current movie it's based on

David: What about the random fact?

nightelf37: Oh, all right.

Random Fact: Defenestration means the act of throwing something or someone out of a window.

Chapter 2: TCO: Ant Inventor

Part I. Personal Thoughts

Several things went through my mind as we sailed across the stars.

"Wonder what the future threat is? Who are the Fusiliers of Shadows? What's their connection with Sabata, if there is any? How exactly do we find the 'chosen ones' for the Crystal Rings? Will the Crystal Ring dispenser tell? This is the second time I was with my Neopets in an adventure, the first being during Eithne's attack. Sure, Wizard was here, but still…"

I entered the cockpit. As I looked around, Messerole was flying the ship, Kairi was staring into space, Jerry was sitting with his eyes closed, and Sora was staring suspiciously at the "Sith", as he considered himself. Wizard, Lea, and my other three Neopets were looking around the Falcon. I checked my bag, and saw that I still had my bracers for my Power Orbs, and the chest with all of them. There was also my stash of paopus. To this day, I wondered why they still haven't gone rotten. Then again, as I returned to Neopia with Team Meridell two years ago, Carl the chimera did tell me the bag had strange properties.

Just then, Sora whispered to Kairi and me, "Hey, guys."

"Yeah, Sora?", Kairi asked.

"Hm?", I said.

"What'd you guys think of Jerry?"

"I don't really know."

"Yeah, we haven't talked to him much, but—" Kairi was cut off.

"You don't trust me, right?" Jerry said.

"It's okay. After all, I'm used to that and I'm still a stranger to you."

"I didn't say I didn't trust you!", said Kairi. "And why would you think I would say that?"

"You know those abilities I showed you?" We nodded. "Well, for most of my life, those abilities have kept people from liking me. Hating and fearing me to be exact."

"But what about the ones in the orphanage?", I asked. "They seemed to trust you. Like you, even."

"Well, they don't know the darker aspects I showed you, like my lightning technique, the Force Choke, and such."

"Oh."

"So if you don't like me, I understand."

"I didn't hate you when we first met. In fact, I was interested."

"Yeah.", Messerole cut in. "We just don't know you enough yet to hate you."

"Really? Well you'll learn to hate me soon enough.", Jerry said.

"Don't be so negative."

"Just drop it, okay?"

"Fine.", Sora grunted in an annoyed manner. Kairi dropped the subject as well. I merely sighed and so did Messerole.

"So how do we know where to go?", Kairi suddenly asked.

"I don't know?", said Sora. "We could just go to random worlds."

"May I ask you guys a question?" Jerry cut in again.

"Sure, what would that be?", I replied.

"Since I have no clue what we may be up against, I'd like to know the story so far. From the moment you received the Keyblade, to this moment right now."

I turned to Sora, who nodded. It would be fair to tell him, since he probably didn't know much of Heartless, Nobodies, or Unversed, the latter of which we didn't know **anything** about either.

"Okay.", we said. I couldn't remember much, but I started with what I could remember from Eithne's attack in Neopia. I started with my sudden entry to Neopia (and turning into a Neopet), continued through my 'adventuring', and my subsequent entry to Destiny Islands to find Team Meridell. At this point, Sora continued the story, and I cut in on occasion. He started at the point of the islands' destruction, to meeting Donald and Goofy (and me meeting Gregorio and Yoris), to fighting Riku (and Wizard, whom I knew back then as Windelle), to freeing Kairi's heart (and reunion with Fiorina, then known as Florina), to locking Kingdom Hearts, to losing a year (which I covered by explaining the events that transpired in Castle Oblivion), to waking in Twilight Town, to Organization XIII and Power Rangers Anarchy Force, to The World That Never Was, to defeating Black Ranger and Xemnas, to returning home (both him and me), and ended at the beginning of this adventure.

"If you ask me, that's a very, very, interesting tale.", said Jerry.

"Well, it's all true.", said Sora. Jerry simply stared at Sora, then Kairi, then back at Sora.

"I never said it wasn't.", he said with a smirk.

"What are you smiling about?", said Kairi.

"Nothing. How many of those rings does the 'Neopets Agency' have? I'd like to know how long we have to be on this quest."

"Well, I wouldn't know.", I said. "I guess we'll have to keep going until we defeat some evil organization or something."

"Or some giant space flea from nowhere.", Messerole added sarcastically. "Wonder how we find out when the dispenser will start depositing a ring for us to use. How do we use the rings anyway?"

Just then, the two lights on the dispenser, which was just laying on the cockpit, started to blink alternately. In a few seconds, the blinking seemed to accelerate, but after a few more seconds, it started to slow.

"Wait! Why did it do that?", asked Messerole.

"Check the map.", Jerry advised. The Grundo pushed a few buttons and the star map appeared on a screen.

"Our ship is at close proximity to a world."

"Turn around and approach that world."

Messerole complied and once we were very close to the world, the dispenser's lights then glowed a steady red and green and a Crystal Ring came out of the dispenser.

"Now we know how the dispenser works.", Kairi said.

"We don't know if this is how it works.", Sora replied.

"But it's worth a try.", I said. On the screen, the World Identifier named the world as "Ant Island". "Hmm…for some reason, I think we might experience a form change in this world."

"Why do you think that?", Messerole asked me.

"Just call it being 'genre savvy'."

KHKHKHKHKH

Later, we told the others of the current situation and we all went to the Transwarp Room. As we made our way there, I asked Jerry, "What's with the smirk back there?"

"They are clueless about each other, aren't they?", he said.

"Who?"

"Sora and Kairi. If there is one thing I find annoying, it is when someone cannot see the obvious."

"I get what you mean. I see it too. And that's one of two reasons why I'm not trying anything on Kairi."

"What's the other?"

"I'm not ready for love and I don't want to do it here."

"…I see."

Finally, we were at the Transwarp Room. However, I had something else to say. I turned to my four Neopets and said, "Uhh, I wouldn't like getting lost to be an issue, so…I need to bring only one of you with me."

"Why?", Euryflavia asked.

"Don't worry. You'll all take turns."

"Okay." Aquanax said. "So who's first."

"What about me?", Tychophon volunteered.

"Okay."

"What should the rest of us do, then?", Messerole asked me.

"Well, you could clean up, explore the Gummi Ship, keep the bad guys off the Falcon…"

"You can count on us.", the Acara saluted.

"Thanks."

With that, as Euryflavia, Messerole, and Aquanax left the Transwarp Room, the rest of us teleported down to Ant Island.

Part II. Split Up

Nighttime on Ant Island…

Seven beams of light landed somewhere in the field. (1) Once the light around us that came along with this teleportation faded, we took a look at our surroundings, then our forms.

"Would you look at that." said Jerry, acknowledging the tree-sized blades of grass.

"What happened to us?", asked Lea. We were now different in appearance.

"Oh, this?", said Sora. "This happens sometimes. It's so we can fit in better in some worlds."

We were now bugs. Sora was a blue ant, wearing 'clothes' out of leaves that resemble his usual clothes, and his antennae were bent in such a way that it looked like his regular hairstyle.

Kairi was a pink butterfly, with 'clothes' like Sora's, antennae pulled back and wings folded.

Jerry was a housefly, his wings being red like his cape, and the white insignia on his shirt was now 'painted' on his front.

Lea was a firefly, and I had to snicker at the pun before I took a look at myself.

I seemed to be a green kind of insect, with two antennae, a body of wide yellow-and-green stripes, and four yellow appendages. I then realized I had taken the form of a Petpetpet known as the Mootix. After looking behind me to see if my bag was still there (and it was, albeit catered to my new size and form), I turned to see Wizard, but when I did, I felt that I instinctively had a grudge against him.

Wizard looked like a blue feline with antennae and little wings. I then realized a second later that he was now a Petpetpet known as the Cooty; Cooties and Mootixes had a grudge against each other for reasons unknown. Wizard looked at me and also made a hostile look.

Suddenly, I realized something else.

"Hey? Where's Tychophon?", Sora asked, thinking the same thing as he lay on a peach-colored rock. I looked at him, then up, then at Sora again. I pointed upward. Everyone looked and saw what I saw. While we all shrunk down, Tychophon has maintained his original size. And Sora was resting on his foot.

Kairi decided to unfold her wings, and fly up to notify the Shoyru about what happened as he seemed to be looking around for us. I didn't catch what she was saying, but after a while, the Shoyru uttered an incantation of sorts and, somehow, he shrunk until he was as tall as we are.

"Wonder why I remained as is while you became bugs?", he asked.

"Who knows?", said Sora. "Magic's unpredictable like that. Anyway, let's get moving."

For a few minutes, we walked the forest of grass blades. Seconds later, we heard voices.

"They're rounding everyone up.", a voice said. A few seconds later, we saw a light.

"Hey! Turn your butt off.", another voice said. The light then faded. Tychophon turned to Lea, then to the firefly's butt.

"You know It's not me.", the former Organization XIII member whispered.

"I know."

As we neared two carton boxes with wheels, presumably the bug-sized version of a trailer, we heard another voice. "Hey, guys! Get me out of this thing, will you?"

As we turned the corner, we saw two fireflies and a tarantula (or some sort of hairy spider) standing next to an opening of a box. The former were closing it while the latter was waving at whatever's inside.

"Hey! Wait, wait! Okay I'll pay you! I'll pay you!"

Just then, the three saw us and as Tychophon moved behind me and Wizard, Jerry stepped us and performed his mind trick. After a couple of seconds (I didn't bother listening), they decided to bring us to who they were 'working for'.

"Oh, no! They've finished collecting the food!", the voice from earlier said. "We've got to get the queen now! Once she's safe, we move on Gypsy's signal."

Just then, the tarantula informed a troupe of insects ahead of our presence. They all turned around.

"Where did you come from?", asked the ladybug.

"Somewhere.", said Wizard.

"But how did you get here with all the grasshoppers around?" asked the blue ant.

"Grasshoppers?" asked Kairi.

"You may not believe us, but we got here on a dragon.", Jerry said.

"Hi.", Tychophon greeted.

KHKHKHKHKH

A little later…

After making an excuse on where we came from (I did pretty well as I was a compulsive liar), the bugs explained what was going on.

The blue ant, whose name was Flik, explained how a group of grasshoppers, led by the evil leader Hopper, had taken over the island and how he, Francis, the ladybug, Slim, the stick bug, Heimlich, the caterpillar, Rosie, the black widow, Dim, the rhinoceros beetle, Manny, the mantis, Gypsy, the moth and Tuck & Roll, the pill bugs, were about to get rid of them with a giant bird made of sticks and leaves hidden in the trees. He also told them that Hopper had help from a strange creature in white leaves covering most of his body.

"Who could it be?", Kairi whispered to Sora, who shrugged.

"It told Hopper it could help, and then black creatures appeared.", Flik continued.

"It had a very well developed vocabulary, I might add.", said Slim.

"You think that guy could be related to Shazed?", asked Sora.

"Might be.", replied Kairi. She then turned to the ant. "Flik, if it's okay, could we help?"

"Why would you want to help?", asked Rosie.

"Because the Heartless, the black creatures, could be more dangerous than Hopper thinks." I said.

"Okay, since you don't know what the plan is, I'll explain it to you.", Flik said. "First, I'll meet up with Dot and the scouts for our part of the plan, while the rest go down there and distract them."

"I'll help distract.", said Jerry.

"Me too.", Wizard volunteered.

"Sure.", Lea said.

"Sora, Rael, and I will help with the bird.", Kairi said.

"Hey.", I retorted. "You could've asked me first, but okay."

"Could I say one last thing?", said Heimlich.

"Are you hungry?", asked Manny.

"Yes."

"You really need to know how to control your appetite.", said Gypsy.

"Appetite.", said the pill bugs in stereo.

"So let's get moving.", said Flik. So the groups separated.

"Are we gonna die?", asked Dim.

"Oh, Dim.", said Rosie. "maybe."

KHKHKHKHKH

As Sora, Kairi, Tychophon and I went off with Flik to fetch the Blueberry Scouts, the rest were gathered on the other side of the trailer.

"So how do we distract them?", asked Jerry.

"We perform.", said Slim.

"Perform what?"

"We are a traveling flea circus.", Manny explained.

"Oh. I see.", Wizard stated. "So what do we do?"

"You, my friends, are with us!", said Francis, flying to the Cooty's side.

"And you are?", Lea asked.

"Clowns.", said Heimlich, "Me, Slim and Francis are clowns."

"Oh, just great."

Part II. Launches and Laughs

"Ladies and gentlebugs! Larvae of all stages! Rub your legs together for the world's greatest bug circus!"

From the clover forest, a trailer of carton boxes pulled forward by two millipedes emerged. Slim was at the reins, Francis and Jerry were between him. Heimlich and Wizard were behind them. Lea was with the fireflies, lighting their butts as skylights. The tarantula was playing their musical contraption. Gypsy and Manny flew next to the trailer and Rosie followed right behind on Dim, who was carrying a cannon on wheels.

The trailer made its way to an arrangement of leaves and rocks that looked like a long table. There was a mean grasshopper (although I would call them locusts) at the center, with two ants on either side of him. One looked elderly and had a crown of flower petals. The other looked rather young (and hot, Lea might add) and had a tiara of leaves. The rest of the seats were occupied by grasshoppers.

Just then, the grasshopper at the center, who was identified as Hopper, stood up and yelled, "Wait a minute!" At that, everyone stopped, Manny and Gypsy hopping on the trailer.

"I think I'm going to wet myself.", Heimlich said as he waved.

"Steady.", Wizard said as he got ready to summon his GunDeLuna.

"What's going on here?", Hopper asked.

"Well…", the ant with the tiara began to say.

"Uh, yes.", Slim covered up. "We were invited by Princess Atta as a surprise for your arrival."

Hopper paused for a second before saying, "Squish 'em."

Slim and Francis dropped their jaws. Wizard, Jerry, and Lea got ready to battle as the grasshoppers got up and hovered, ready to attack. Dim backed away in fear and accidentally sat on the cannon… which shot out Tuck and Roll, who were loaded inside. The pill bugs rebounded on the trailer and landed in front of the grasshoppers.

The two then did their routine. Suddenly, one of them screwed up and they started slapping each other.

"Now that's funny.", Hopper stated.

"That is funny.", one of his goons said as they all sat down and laughed.

"I guess we could use a little entertainment." Hopper sat down and rested his feet on the table. "Looks like you did something right for once, Princess."

Slim got down giggled nervously and said, "On with the show!"

KHKHKHKHKH

While the circus bugs performed for the grasshoppers, Flik gathered the Blueberry Scouts, and we all made our way up the tree.

"Hold on, please.", said Flik as he ran to a clump of moss and pulled out what looked like a backpack.

As the ant put it on, Sora asked, "What's that?"

"This is a device used to quickly cut down grain stalks, but I customized it to fight off these Heartless."

"Looks impressive.", said Kairi.

"For a bunch of stick and twigs.", I slyly added.

"Well.", said Sora. "Let's start climbing."

As I looked up the tree, I gulped. Climbing wasn't exactly one of my strong suits. Instead, I rode on Tychophon, who turned himself big enough for me to get on his back. After a few minutes, the inevitable question came.

"Are we there yet?", asked Sora. I grumbled from how classic that line was.

"Just about.", said Flik.

"So, Flik. Tell us about this guy wearing white leaves."

"Well, he had green skin that was a little looser than those of your 'dragon' friend, green…strips of silk on his head ("Hair.", I muttered), and yellow eyes."

Once we all made it to where a large model bird out of leaves was placed, just as the last Scout made it to the top, Heartless appeared from the walls.

They had a deep shade of brown, a long body with many legs, a wicked looking pair of pincers on their heads, two yellow eyes, and (naturally) the Heartless emblem.

"Now I haven't seen this kind of Heartless before.", I remarked.

"They remind me of the Pot Centipede back in Agrabah.", said Sora.

The Nightcrawlers skittered forward to attack. Several launched forth to tear Sora to bits, but Tychophon shot them down with his bow.

"Everybody on the bird, now!", Flik said.

The Blueberry Scouts made their way to the bird as we held off the Heartless.

One after the other, Sora cast Fire, Thunder, then Blizzard, each eliminating a Heartless. As Kairi struck them, they started to spit acid. As she kept dodging those, she jumped up, bashed them, then cast Light, summoning three orbs around her, which vaporized the Heartless. Flik was about to be attacked by one, but he pulled a lever and a mallet came down form his pack, smashing the Heartless's head. He pulled another lever and a long whip-like object came out of the top, which started to spin around and it sliced the remaining Nightcrawlers. Just then, I saw a Nightcrawler head for one of the small ants who had tripped.

"No! Dot!", Flik cried out. Luckily, I shot it down with a well-placed Blizzard. He turned to me. "Thanks for saving her."

"Don't mention it."

"So what do we do now?", asked Sora. Flik gestured us to the bird's beak, which was open. As Dot got in, Flik, Sora, and Kairi followed suit. I decided to remain outside and ride on Tychophon.

Inside the bird, Flik told everyone what to do. "Okay, I need everyone to sit down and grab an oar." They all did so. Sora and Kairi took seats near the back and took an oar.

KHKHKHKHKH

Down the tree…

After a musical that involved Lea and the other two fireflies turning their butts (and wearing cones on them) on and off in manner of rhythm lights while Rosie and Jerry danced, the next performance was under way.

"From the most mysterious regions of uncharted Asia, I give you the Chinese Cabinet of Metamorphosis.", Manny said as the tarantula and Wizard brought out a Chinese carton box. "Utilizing psychic vibrations, I shall select the perfect volunteer."

As Manny made his way along the table with his eyes closed, one of the grasshoppers, whose name was Molt, raised his hand. "Oh, pick me. Pick me. Pick me." But he was ignored. "No! Come on. I'm asking you with my brain."

Manny made his way to the elderly ant with the flower crown, who was the queen of the colony. "Aha! Why, Your Majesty!", he said as he offered his hand.

"Me?", the queen asked as she took the hand. However, a rabid grasshopper lashed out on the mantis.

"No, no.", Hopper said. "Thumper, down. Let her go." Thumper did as told. "Maybe he'll saw her in half."

"As you ascend the beetle to the unknown," Manny led the queen on Dim, who brought her out onto the box. Although before she could get inside, she was blocked from view by Dim's shell as he turned around to land and leave. "Put your trust in the mysteries that are beyond mere mortal comprehension."

"Ooh! This is gonna be good!", Hopper stated.

"I call upon the ancient Szechuan spirits to inhabit the body of the volunteer."

Meanwhile, Dim made it to the trailer where everyone else was gathered. It was revealed that the queen has hidden behind Dim's shell.

Back on stage, Manny was on a roll, incanting, "Transformation!" over and over. While he said that, the moon was getting covered by clouds.

KHKHKHKHKH

Back at the tree…

Flik popped out of the bird and waved at two of the Blueberry Scouts, who were situated outside to send a signal to them, he then looked below with a telescope made out of a leaf and a dewdrop.

KHKHKHKHKH

Below…

"And now, insectus transformitus!"

Manny made a dramatic pose and the carton popped open to reveal…Gypsy, who opened her wings in a fantastic show, surprising the grasshoppers. She then landed next to Manny as the two of them bowed.

KHKHKHKHKH

Back at the tree (again)…

Flik saw this and yelled, "That's the signal!"

The two scouts outside pulled apart some sticks, releasing a boulder, which was supposed to topple the twig keeping the bird in place.

Flik went inside onto the 'driver's seat' and turned to the scouts at the back.

"This is it fellas. Get ready to roll."

Everyone gripped the oars tight. Except for Dot, who was positioned at the 'megaphone' to mimic the bird's cry. However, just before the boulder could reach the twig, it stopped short.

"It's stuck!", the scout said.

"Not for long!", Tychophon said as he went to the twig and knocked it down with a punch. He then flew ahead as the bird got ready to 'fly'.

KHKHKHKHKH

Below (again)…

Just as the grasshoppers applauded the act, there was a loud screech and a giant bird flew down. The grasshoppers panicked and flew around as Tychophon joined in the chaos, roaring with all his might. At least as well as he could.

"Bird! It's a bird!", Hopper cried out. "Where's Xozict when you need him?"

Seeing their chance, the ants, who were rounded up at the back, decided to run rampant, and everyone else followed suit. The fireflies looked at each other, then decided to be the skylights. In the midst of the chaos, the grasshoppers panicked and even a few fled the island. Slim then had the idea of splatting berry juice on his body, mimicking blood. Everyone else caught on.

As Hopper looked around helplessly, Slim made his way to Hopper and came to him. "My eye! Help me!"

Hopper screamed and ran while Molt stifled a laugh. Heimlich even pretended to be headless, scaring the skin off a few of the grasshoppers. During all this however, the bird slammed into the trailer, toppling it over and scattering the props. And letting out whatever was inside; the circus's original head P.T. Flea.

As he got out of the sac Rosie made to bind him, he saw the bird (and a 'dragon') spreading chaos. He screamed in fright, then heard Gypsy scream. He turned to see Manny drenched in 'blood', 'dying' in the moth's arms.

"Oh, the pain!" Manny then fell limp, terrifying two grasshoppers.

P.T. screamed, "There goes my magic act!" He jumped to the matchbox and lit one of the matches. "Flaming Death!" He then jumped onto the lighter fluid bottle, and lay the match on it. The now burning fluid set the bypassing bird on fire. "A direct hit!"

Inside the bird, while Sora and Kairi futilely tired to stop the flames with Blizzard, the Scouts panicked and ran to Flik, who then left the 'driver's seat'. But with no one to fly the bird, the jig was up. And Hopper saw it. Inside, Flik went to the center of the craft and pulled on something on the 'ceiling'. This something was what tied the bird to the rope on the tree, giving the illusion of flight. The bird then crashed next to the anthill.

Above, Tychophon and I saw this happen. Just before we could come over to help, a Storm Rider as big as the Shoyru attacked us.

Part III. Rise and Fall

Below…

Everyone gasped from the sight and Atta cried out, "Dot!"

All the ants and the circus bugs, as well as Lea, Wizard, and Jerry, ran to the bird. Inside, Flik, Sora, and Kairi were leading the Blueberry Scouts out of the bird. The scout ran to Atta, who hugged them. Just as Dot got out, she was grabbed by Hopper by the head.

"Whose idea was this? Huh?", he yelled out to everyone. He then turned to Atta. "Was it yours, Princess?"

"Leave her alone, Hopper!", Flik called from inside the bird as he got out. "The bird was my idea! I'm the one you want!"

As Sora and Kairi got out as well, Hopper dropped Dot and snapped his fingers. From behind the three, Thumper landed. Sora and Kairi brought out their Keyblades, but the rabid grasshopper kicked them all away. All three got up seconds later, but then two grasshoppers appeared and restrained the Keyblade wielders. Sora struggled to get out, but he couldn't. He then saw that these grasshoppers had a gray aura about them. As Thumper continued to beat down Flik, Sora turned to find Jerry, Lea and Wizard, who were restrained by similar grasshoppers.

They could only watch helplessly as Thumper continued to beat up Flik. Finally, Hopper ordered him to stop, just as he had Flik under his heel.

"Where do you get the gall to do this to me?", Hopper said to the ant.

"You were…you were gonna squish the queen.", Flik said.

All the ants gasped. And Dot confirmed this. "It's true!", she said.

"I hate it when someone gives away the ending." Hopper let Thumper kick Flik one more time. "You piece of dirt! No, I'm wrong. You're lower than dirt. You're an ant!" Hopper turned to everyone else. "Let this be a lesson to all you ants. Ideas are very dangerous things. You are mindless, soil-shoving losers, put on this earth to serve us!"

"You're wrong, Hopper.", Flik said as he struggled to get up. "Ants are not meant to serve grasshoppers." Hopper turned to the ant and walked toward him. "I've seen these ants do great things. And year after year, they somehow manage to pick food for themselves **and** you. So…so who's the weaker species? Ants don't serve grasshoppers! It's **you** who need **us**!" Hopper stopped at this and turned to see the other ants murmur. "We're a lot stronger than you say we are." Hopper turned back to Flik. "And you know it, don't you?"

Hopper got angry and smacked Flik to the ground, then lay his foot on his head. Just as he got ready to squish him, Atta got in the way and he stopped.

"Well, Princess.", he said.

Uh, Hopper?", Molt said. "I hate to interrupt, but…"

Hopper turned to see the ants getting infuriated from the revelation. He yelled, "You ants stay back!" But they didn't. In fact, they began to march forward.

"Oh, this was such a bad idea.", Molt said as he and the other grasshoppers backed away.

"You see, Hopper, nature has a certain order.", Atta said as she hovered to his face. "The ants pick the food, the ants keep the food, and the grasshoppers…leave!"

As one, all the ants charged straight for the grasshoppers, who flew for their lives. Molt, in particular, shed an entire layer of his skin and ran into the grass as the ants ran over it.

"You think I'm scared.", said Hopper, the last one left said. "I have the Heartless!" He snapped his fingers, and Heartless appeared. But they were swiftly run over by the mob of ants. Some even started to cartwheel with Tuck & Roll. Even Thumper started to flee, being scared off by Dim with a huge bellow.

Above, Tychophon and I finally vanquished the Storm Rider.

"Now where did that come from?", I asked as I saw the commotion below.

"That came from me.", a voice said. I turned to see a floating figure in a leaf version of the white coat Shazed wore.

"You must be the cause of this, huh?", Tychophon stated. The figure promptly disappeared without an answer.

Below, Sora and the others, now that the grasshoppers were no longer restraining them, fought Heartless as the ants carried Hopper to the cannon. They stuffed him in, and the tarantula began the drum roll, P.T., Manny, and Gypsy behind him. Dim got on a toadstool behind the cannon, ready to jump and fire the cannon.

"Happy landings, Hopper.", Flik said as everyone cheered.

Just before Dim was ready to fire, the sound of thunder was heard. Everyone stopped short as Tychophon landed and I got off.

"Huh?", Sora asked. "What's wrong?"

Flik looked past Hopper and saw what was coming. He turned to the others and yelled, "Rain!" Everyone panicked.

"Rain?", Lea asked. "What's wrong with that?"

"Maybe rain isn't much to us as it merely makes us wet.", I said as I took shelter underneath my Shoyru. "But to bugs, rain does more than that."

Finally, the rain came and crashed onto the are like little meteorites, one of them knocking the cannon off balance. Everybody went for shelter in the anthill and under the trailer. In the midst of the chaos (2), Hopper managed to get his arms out. As Dim dodged a raindrop headed for him, Hopper rolled to where the beetle was about to land, and was launched—straight for Flik.

"Flik!", Atta cried out as Hopper snatched him and flew off.

"Quick! After them!", Slim said as Francis took him. Dim took Heimlich and as Rosie and the pill bugs got on, he took off as well.

"Hop on!", I called as I got on Tychophon. Only Sora followed suit. Everyone else, as their forms had wings, decided to take a chance and flew using them. We followed Hopper, who made his way up the tree, which was now leafless. During the chase, Francis lost Slim in the branches.

Rosie used her silk strings to toss the pill bugs on Hopper, who harassed him by pulling on his antennae, but Hopper then flew through a small gap, which Dim wasn't able to pass through and they got stuck.

Hopper, with one less antenna, continued to fly skyward as we continued to chase him. Sora and Kairi tossed their Keyblades, Lea his chakrams, Wizard and I fired with our guns, and Jerry did nothing as he forgot his sabers back at the Falcon. Hopper dodged all our attacks with ease and shielded himself with Flik on occasion.

As he looked back, Flik was suddenly snatched from his hands by Princess Atta, who bypassed us. Hopper turned around and, despite our best efforts, bypassed us as well with ease. We turned around and resumed the chase. Ahead, we saw Atta then fly not to the anthill, but the other way around across the lake. As they made it to the other side, Wizard got a clear shot and fired at Hopper, taking him down.

Everyone else caught up and we confronted him. Suddenly, a Beehive Barrier was conjured, keeping out the rain. And Atta. And imprisoning not just us with Hopper, but Flik as well. The area also seemed to cover a certain nest. Hopper got up immediately and headed straight for Flik—but was stopped by a rain drop…'thrown' by Jerry. He turned to us as we confronted him.

"You know I can easily take you all on.", said Hopper.

_Seriously?_, I thought to myself.

"You're a coward, you know that?", Sora called back. Just then, a Nightcrawler popped out of the ground.

"Look's like Xozict is finally going to help.", Hopper said with a smirk. The Night crawler looked at Hopper…and jumped at him, entering Hopper's body. Hopper let out a loud scream and fell to his knees.

"This can't be good.", said Flik.

"Definitely not good.", I gulped.

"It's never a good thing when somebody gets possessed.", Tychophon added.

Hopper then flew into the air, his eyes a familiar yellow. He let out a roar and flew at us. Engulfed in darkness, he struck Wizard, who was sent flying backwards. Hopper then charged at Kairi, who parried each of his claw swipes. He then tried to bite her, but Lea's chakram got in the way. Lea then shot a couple of flames right into Hopper. Flik could do nothing but watch since his pack got ruined in the rain. However, he did know what to do.

Meanwhile, as Hopper flew up, Tychophon grabbed him, flipped to send him to the ground, and tossed him. Hopper landed on the ground with a slam. Sora followed with a Gravity spell. A dark orb appeared beneath Hopper, but the insect dodged it…and managed to grab Flik. Hopper held him hostage as he backed away from us…and unbeknownst to him, right to the nest.

Suddenly, there was a chirp. Hopper looked up to see a bird. A goldfinch to be exact. "Well, what's this?", Hopper said, his voice not his own. "Another one of your little bird tricks?"

"Yep.", said Flik as we retreated behind Tychophon, who was as big as the bird.

"Are there a bunch of little girl scouts in this one too?" He turned to the bird's face and greeted it. "Hello, girls!"

It was at this moment that the goldfinch let out what seemed to be (to insects) a roar. Hopper fled, but it was in vain as the bird caught up and caught it by its beak. As the bird flew to its next, we heard little chicks chirping. We all looked, some of us in horror, as Hopper was then fed to the bird's young. After the 'carnage' was over, the Barrier faded away and the goldfinch went on its nest to sleep and cover its young from the rain.

Immediately, Atta ran to Flik and hugged him. "I'm so glad you're okay, Flik.", she said.

"Well I guess we won't see him anymore.", said Jerry as he watched the goldfinch sleep peacefully, nesting its young.

"That's horrible!", said Kairi in disgust. "And you've seen that countless times, Sora?"

"I hate to admit it, but yes." said Sora.

"Oh." Kairi only saw one such death; the one of Crescent Unit Septimus, which she was held accountable for.

"I hate the fact that we may be killing anybody who isn't a Heartless, Nobody, or undead.", I sighed. Tychophon looked quizzically at me. "Don't ask. I can't take the pressure and I always at least try not to deliver the killing blow."

"Anyway, we'd better get going.", Lea said.

Part IV. The Crystal Ring

We made our way to the lake. At which most of us flew, me on Tychophon and Flik carried by Atta. We then made it back to Ant Island, where we resumed walking. Luckily, the rain had stopped.

"I would like to thank you guys for helping.", Flik said.

"No problem.", said Jerry. "No problem at all."

All of a sudden, something in Flik glowed. We all saw it happen and naturally, we were surprised. Also, something in Kairi's 'clothes' glowed. The Keyblade wielder took it out and saw that it was the Crystal Ring.

"What's happening?", I asked a the Destiny's Embrace appeared on Kairi's right hand.

Something in Kairi's head spoke. It also spoke in my head. And in Sora's and Wizard's apparently from the looks on their faces.

_INITIATING CRYSTAL RING TUTORIAL_, it said.

"Huh?", Kairi gasped. Suddenly, everything except herself and Flik vanished into black. "Guys?"

_CEASE PANIC. ELECTION OF HEART NOW COMMENCING._

Beneath their feet, the ground exploded in a throng of…glowing mushrooms (3), which then changed into something else. Once the 'metamorphosis' stopped, Kairi saw that this was a mural, as Sora once explained. He had seen the murals of the Princesses of Heart and his own (one of which also had me as its 'main character'). However, this seemed to be completely different. This one depicted Flik, The ring of circles depicted grains, and the miscellaneous circles scattered around 'Flik' were Slim, Francis, Heimlich, Manny, Gypsy, Dim, Rosie, Tuck & Roll, Dot, the queen, and Atta, the last of which had a heart around her.

_JUMP INTO THE AIR._

Kairi did as told and jumped up, where she kept rising at a steady rate.

_TURN TO THE MURAL._

Kairi followed and saw Flik, who just stood there, not knowing what to do.

_TOSS CRYSTAL RING TO 'CANDIDATE'._

Kairi took out the Crystal Ring and looked at it. She then tossed it to Flik. As it descended, it spun and increased in size. By the time it reached the ant it was big enough for him to pass through the 'hole'…and that's what happened. As the ring landed to the ground, it embedded itself into the mural. A Heart appeared underneath Flik, and a Keyhole appeared on the spot in front of him.

_AIM WEAPON TO KEYHOLE._

Kairi aimed the Destiny's Embrace at the Keyhole, and it charged a beam, which was fired. The beam hit the Keyhole, then the Heart shone, engulfing Flik, Kairi, and the whole mural.

_ELECTION OF HEART COMPLETE. THANK YOU FOR USING THE CRYSTAL RING._

When the light faded, she saw that she and Flik were back where they 'left'.

"What just happened?", Flik asked.

"You just got…something.", Sora decided to explain.

"What is it?", Atta asked.

"It could be either that.", Wizard said, indicating Sora's Keyblade. "Or that." He indicated my DirLuxGun. "But you won't get it immediately. We don't exactly know how it works either."

"This is one of the reasons why we came here.", Lea said. "To find morally good individuals like yourself, Flik. We saw how you stood up to Hopper despite the odds."

"Really? It was nothing."

"Oh, don't be so modest.", said Sora. "You deserve it."

"Gee, thanks."

"Still, what was the name Hopper said?", Jerry wondered.

"What?", I asked.

"When that Heartless came out of the ground, Hopper said 'Xozict finally helped.' Who's Xozict?"

"Wait a second.", Wizard stated. "Shazed is a Z-anagram for 'shade'. Shazed used darkness. Xozict is a Z-anagram for 'toxic'. That means—"

Suddenly, a Beehive Barrier separated Sora, Kairi, Wizard, and me from the rest.

"I use poison.", a voice said. "And yes, I'm from the same group Shazed is from."

A Dark Corridor appeared and revealed the figure Tychophon and I saw earlier.

"That's him!", yelled Flik, unable to do a thing. The figure had green 'hair', green skin (that made him look like an orc), and yelow eyes. He also had a green aura, which I guessed protected his body from changing form.

"Hey there.", he said. "I'm Xozict and I'm gonna defeat you. By the way, it's a pleasure to meet your acquaintance."

Part V. Xozict

The four of us in the Barrier drew our weapons. "Why do you want to attack me?", asked Xozict.

"You're from the same group Shazed is from, are you not?", said Sora.

"What gave you that idea?"

"Your 'suit'.", Wizard stated. "And you confirmed that yourself seconds ago."

"Oh, that's right."

"And you brought the Heartless here."

"Did that too. I'll have to admit, Hopper lasted a lot longer than I thought he would. And I thought of another reason you'd want to get rid of me!"

"You're self-incriminating?", I asked. "What does self-incriminate mean anyway?"

"Yes, I am self-incriminating, which is the act of accusing oneself of a crime for which a person can then be prosecuted. I'm evil. I'm also No. 6 in the Heartless Syndicate, whereas Shazed is No. 3."

"The Heartless Syndicate?", I asked.

"You don't know anything about us, do you?" We shook our heads. "Fine. I'll tell you since no one else might. You see, The Heartless Syndicate is a group of thirteen members. Eleven of which defected from Organization XIII, and one of which was defeated by them and Anarchy Force. Thanks for defeating them, by the way."

"You guys were former members of Organization XIII?", Wizard gasped in surprise.

"Yes, but we weren't after Kingdom Hearts to get our hearts back like most of them or for power like Xemnas. In fact, the reason we left was because of those cursed Rangers."

"Anarchy Force?", Lea asked.

"Yes."

"So what is your goal?"

"That, I will not divulge.", Xozict said, sticking out his tongue. "Now we shall fight." He summoned a green halberd, which he then stabbed to the ground. "Poison!" The ground then turned a sickly green.

Xozict then removed his halberd's spearhead and made his way to us. He started with Sora, where he was able to scratch at his side, inflicting "Poison" on him. The Nobody was about to attack again when I got in the way, pushed his halberd back, then bashed his front with my shield, scratching at his cloak with its razor-sharp petals.

"What sharp petals your shield has.", he said.

"The better to wound you with, my dear.", I said mockingly as I continued to bash him. Xozict then decided to jump back.

"Ha-ha. Very funny.", he said dully as he spun his staff around, and created a poisonous tornado. Wizard shot a continuous beam at the ground, somehow disrupting the tornado. Kairi took this chance to cast a Fire spell at the tornado, stopping it and leaving Xozict dizzy. Sora came in and bashed the Nobody. Just before he could hit the ground, Wizard quickly charged a Tsuki and fired with all his might, knocking Xozict to the wall. Kairi then tossed her Keyblade right at him and the barrier 'broke' as he fell to the ground.

"You guys're tough, I'll give you that.", Xozict remarked. "We shall meet again." The Nobody then left via Dark Corridor. Once he was gone, Flik and Atta ran to us.

"Who was that! Are you okay?", the princess asked.

"We're fine.", said Kairi. "We're glad to help you with Hopper."

"Now that our job is done, we must leave now.", Lea said as we all headed into the 'forest' so as they won't see how we leave.

"So long, Flik.", Tychophon said. "Hope we meet again."

"Me too." Flik shook Wizard's hand as he offered it. After that, Atta and Flik held hands as they made their way back to the anthill. Meanwhile, we entered the forest to where we 'landed'.

Halfway to the Gummi Ship 'drop off', Sora felt dizzy. He then clutched his side where Xozict's poison hit him. He then fell over.

"Sora!", Kairi cried out. "What's happening?"

"Crud!", I exclaimed. "The poison!" Just as Sora lost consciousness, I cast Esuna on him. At exactly the same moment, Kairi cast a spell called—

"Cure-all!" Two lights shone above Sora and did their work.

"What was that spell you just used?", I asked.

"Cure-all. It does what Cure does and cures anyone of status ailments like Poison."

"Well, it'd be more efficient to use Esuna since, while it only cures status ailments, it uses less magic power than Cure-all."

"Let's debate about spells later.", Lea said as he hoisted Sora upon his shoulder.

"Starting the teleporter now.", Wizard said as he took out the device and used it, taking all of us back to the Falcon.

Gummi Ship Time: Suvio Permi

Sora awoke in the Falcon's main hold, back in his human form. Kairi was next to him on the 'sofa' partly circling the table. Lea and I were sitting on plastic chairs watching him. Wizard and Jerry were feeding Gallico, and my Neopets were playing some new board game in the ship. It was called the "Command Board", but I decided not to check on it yet.

"You okay?", Kairi asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. What happened?", Sora asked.

"Xozict badly poisoned you. I cast Cure-all to remedy it."

"I cast Esuna, which would have been more efficient.", I said with a grunt. "Lea carried you here, by the way."

"He did that?"

"Yeah, but I could've left you.", Lea said. Sora raised an eyebrow. "Not that I really would. After all, I care a lot about Roxas, who exists in you. And I have to admit, I'm beginning to care about you too."

"Just rest and try to get better, Sora.", I told him. "We can't go on without you. Well, maybe we can, but it won't be the same."

"Okay." Sora took a blanket and pulled the covers over himself. "By the way, I noticed an aura on those grasshoppers that restrained us. It was like I was…an ordinary kid again while they held me tight."

"Those grasshoppers.", Lea said. "They had a spell cast on them."

"What's the spell?"

"Suvio Permi." (4)

"Suvio Permi?", Kairi asked.

"It's a spell that enables its targets to sense fighters like us, render us useless when they hold us, and render them invulnerable to whatever we dish out on them. One way to stop such is for civilians, those who have next to no skills in battle, to strike them."

"What's the other way?", I asked Lea.

"I don't know."

"How do you know about this?", Sora asked.

"I learned it while I was still in Organization XIII as Axel during a mission. I don't really wanna talk about it."

"Oh, okay." And before we knew it, Sora was snoring.

-Yellow Travelers Chronicler-

**Flik**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Flik is a brilliant ant who builds inventions to better his colony, although his ideas have now labeled him crazy amongst it. He set out to find heroes to protect the colony from Hopper and came back with a circus._

**Slim**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Slim is a prop used in comic sketches in the circus. He wishes he could play better roles._

**Francis**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Francis is a clown in the circus. He has a short temper and this is not helped by the fact that everybody mistakes him for a lady._

**Heimlich**

A Bug's Life (1998)

Heimlich is a clown in the circus. He is large and can't stop eating. He dreams of becoming a butterfly.

**Manny**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Manny is the magician in the circus. He is mystical and deep and seems to have a close relationship with Gypsy._

**Gypsy**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Gypsy is the beautiful assistant in the magic show. She is very interested in Manny's work, who she seems to have a close relationship with._

**Rosie**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Rosie is the acrobat and 'animal tamer' in the circus. She likes her job, but can be a little absent-minded. She also cares a lot for Dim._

**Dim**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Dim is the "wild animal" in the circus. Despite his size, he's friendly and can be quite a crybaby._

**Tuck & Roll**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Tuck and Roll are partners in the circus as the insect cannonball. Both are hyper and hard to understand._

**Dot**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Dot is the youngest princess of the colony. She is often made fun of due to her small size and her inability to fly, though she finally got the hang of it. She is a good friend of Flik._

**Atta**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Atta is the eldest princess of the colony and next in line as ruler. She is a nervous sort who often worries about being queen._

**Hopper**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Hopper is the leader of the grasshoppers. He bribes the ants to collect food for them as protection from other bugs. In reality, it's because he knows the ants can overwhelm them if the work together. He is, like almost every insect, afraid of birds._

**Molt**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Hopper's dim-witted brother. He doesn't seem to do anything evil at all, staying in the sidelines, eating food, and looking like an idiot._

**Nightcrawlers**

_Nightcrawlers are long Heartless with the ability to spit acid. Along with that, they can also run at impressive speeds and have crushing mandibles. It is best to attack from a distance._

**Thumper**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_Thumper is the muscle of the grasshopper's gang. He is not in his right mind and is often kept under leash, only to be released on Hopper's command._

**P.T. Flea**

_A Bug's Life (1998)_

_P.T. Flea is the original owner of the circus Francis, Slim and the others come from. He was tied up to as not to screw up with the plan, but he screwed it anyway._

**Xozict**

_Xozict is No. 6 in the Heartless Syndicate. He appeared in Ant Island to give Hopper a hand. He told Sora about his group and their relations with Organization XIII. During battle, he uses poison and proved near-fatal for Sora._

nightelf37: Credits.

_Dave Foley as Flik_

_Kevin Spacey as Hopper_

_Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Atta_

_Hayden Panetierre as Dot (5)_

_Phyllis Diller as the Queen_

_Richard Kind as Molt_

_Joe Ranft as Heimlich_

_Denis Leary as Francis_

_David Hyde Pierce as Slim_

_Jonathan Harris as Manny_

_Madeline Kahn as Gypsy_

_Bonnie Hunt as Rosie_

_Brad Garrett as Dim_

_Michael McShane as Tuck & Roll_

_John Ratzenberger as P.T. Flea_

_Danny Wayne Stallen as Xozict (Jindrax in Power Rangers Wild Force)_

(1) Think of this landing like the one in KH2 in the Pride Lands, or the sort when Megaman enters a 'stage' after the words "READY" go away.

(2) Second time around.

(3) I thought having a throng of white birds all the time would be nonsensical in this case, as Flik is an ant. Most characters will have different 'mural enterings', although the white birds thing will still be around.

(4) Suvio Permi, I made up myself. It's an anagram for 'impervious', which is what Suvio Permi pretty much does.

(5) Yes. As it turns out, the VA for Kairi also voiced this character in her childhood days.


	4. Chapter 3: TCO: Brave Chicken

nightelf37: I didn't promise I wouldn't put up another chapter before finishing Kingdom Hearts Remake 2, did I?

Tychophon: Hello?

nightelf37: Who's there? How'd you get in?

Tychophon: Same way Ilsa did last time, I think.

nightelf37: You don't even know her personally.

Tychophon: Oh, I don't? Strange. Perhaps the arc you set up here has residual memories or something.

nightelf37 sighs.

nightelf37: Anyway, remember, only the plot and OCs belong to me. Save for what happens in the following movie this chapter is baesd on.

Random Fact: The not-well-liked _Sonic Underground_ is partly the reason why I like _Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch_; both involve battle with music.

Chapter 3: TCO: Brave Chicken

Part I. Encounter with a Fusilier of Shadows

That night, Sora and I decided to take a nap. Kairi was trying to find out more about Jerry, Lea was feeding Gallico, and Wizard was trying to predict the next world where there may be a "Crystal Ring Candidate". My Neopets were playing rock-paper-scissors with cards (Euryflavia doesn't exactly have fingers), though Tychophon was playing with the "Command Board" that somehow appeared in the ship, just like with my Valenth adoptable.

In dreamland…

Sora found himself in darkness. Just then, doves 'exploded' around his feet, just like during his Awakening. He now found himself on the mural where he confronted Roxas. There were some differences though; the pictures of himself, Riku, and Kairi were now older, Roxas, Wizard, and Axel (Lea) were added in the mural and my Neopets were clustered in miscellaneous places around 'me'. But what caught his attention was Kairi. Instead of being in a circle like the others, her face was in a heart.

"What's this about?" he asked as he leaned down, just as I suddenly arrived in the mural with him from behind.

"I think I have a theory.", a voice said. We both turned around to see a grey-robed figure. I also noted that he seemed to look like an anthropomorphic Split Quiggle. (1) He also had brown clean-cut hair.

"Who are you?", I asked.

"My name is Joel Sontem." (2)

"You must be one of the three who told the King about the Crystal Rings, aren't you?", Sora asked.

"Yes, I am."

"Well, why are we delivering them?"

"As I've told the King, it has been prophesied by Cosmos that there will be a great calamity that will threaten this universe."

"How do you know how the rings work?"

"Can't tell you that. It's classified."

"Why not?"

"Don't you know the meaning of classified?", I asked Sora.

"Oh, all right." Sora paused for a second. "Why are you here?"

"I've come to test your strength, Sora."

"What about me?", I asked.

"If you want, you can join in. This is just a friendly spar." Joel then raised his hands, clasped them together, and a gun formed. It looked like Sabata's GunDelHell (he showed it to us before leaving with Riku), but was colored brown. "I present to you…the ColorShade."

"Is that a Fusil of Shadows?", I asked.

"Correct."

"What's the difference between that and a Gun of Light?"

"Can't tell that."

"Why's a Neopet like you a Fusiler of Shadows?"

Joel raised his eyebrow for a second. "Can't tell that either." He pointed his Fusil at the ground and fired. The mural then swiftly changed. We now stood on what seemed to be Roxas's mural. Of course, it depicted him, who was in the same resting position as Sora. Surrounding him was a ring of circles with the crown symbol Sora's necklace depicted. In miscellaneous places around the mural were a number of circles that were about the same size. They showed monochrome pictures of Hayner, Pence and Olette, and colored pictures of Axel, White Ranger, and Naminé, the latter of which had a heart around her. There was also a silhouetted figure. (3)

"Why are we here?", asked Sora.

"Heads up!"

Before Sora knew it, Joel has rushed in, his Fusil in a saber form not unlike the one Fiorina and I do. I was busy looking at Joel and not at the mural, so when he rushed, I quickly fired with my DirLuxGun. As this was in a dream, I did not have my Power Orbs with me and couldn't use any skills or magic. Joel dodged all my attacks and made his way to Sora, who summoned the Ultima Weapon and parried. They both landed on their feet.

Joel let his right hand go of the ColorShade and raised it, summoning pillars of light out of the ground around us. While I strafed around the pillars, Sora jumped into the air and threw his Keyblade at the Fusilier. Joel transferred his fusil to his right hand, raised his left hand, and dozens of dark spheres darted after Sora. As the pillars disappeared, I fired at the spheres, which ignored me and headed for Sora alone, who called back his Keyblade with almost no time left and deflected them.

"You're fast.", Joel said. "But can you stop this?"

He then landed on the mural, and then quickly jumped off (Quiggle Jump) and right into Sora. After slamming into him, he flipped and landed his foot on him (Quiggle Stomp), sending him to the ground and disarming him. I fired at Joel, but he dodged each attack as he then floated in the air. He then raised his fusil halfway and a storm of grayed-out-rainbow-colored clouds appeared around him and I stopped shooting.

"Ultima Twilight!", he cried out.

As light began to fill the whole field, I then realized what was about to happen and turned to Sora. "Hide behind me!", I yelled as I took a defensive stance.

But Sora paid no heed as he summoned his Keyblade and jumped up in an attempt to stop the attack. It was too late as I heard a boom. I still got hurt from the attack, but not enough to take me down. Sora, on the other hand, took the blow full force and fell to the ground defeated.

Joel landed on the ground and offered a hand to Sora, who took it and got up. I managed to notice that Joel was panting, despite seemingly going easy on us.

"Don't worry.", he said. "You'll get stronger."

"Wait. The fight's over?", I asked. "But you haven't defeated me yet."

"I said I'd be testing Sora. You were simply interfering, but not in a bad way."

"Oh."

"How did you use that?", asked Sora, talking about the attack that defeated him.

"I use the power of Twilight.", Joel said.

"Like Riku?"

"No. Riku uses the darkness.", the Knight leaned down, picked up the Ultima Weapon, and returned it to Sora. "Your friends and mine, they're a lot alike, despite our obvious differences. Riku uses the darkness, like David. Kairi uses the light, like Hayden. And us, we can use the twilight."

"But I can only use light."

"You need to train more, but I have a feeling you'll get there.", he sighed "However, I'm afraid you'll just hate how you'll gain it."

"What? Why? What happens?", I wanted to know.

"The path of darkness is a difficult one, but not the kind of difficult the path of light provides. Also, it's much more difficult for someone who has taken light's path."

"What can happen when one takes the path of darkness?", asked Sora.

"During his training in the dark path, David almost killed Hayden once. She got in danger too when I took it was well to master twilight. And do you remember what happened to Riku?"

"Yeah. How do you know about him?"

"Let's just say we encountered him once. I saw it in his eyes. I fear that when you take the path of darkness to learn twilight, you might kill someone you are close to, just as Riku almost killed you."

"What? How do you know this?" Sora was getting annoyed.

"I don't. I just have the feeling as that did happen to me once."

Sora didn't believe him, thinking Joel did know what will happen. "Tell me! Who do I hurt?" Joel just turned around and started to walk away. "Come back!" Joel kept walking. "I would never hurt Kairi!" The Fusilier of Shadows suddenly stopped.

"Why did you say Kairi?", he said. Sora just stood there, speechless with shock. "I only hope it won't be her. Bye." Sora ran after him, but they both disappeared from the mural. I could only assume that Sora woke up and Joel left.

_It can't be true._, I heard Sora say as I stood alone in the mural.

_I think I know the difference…_, I thought.

KHKHKHKHKH

0700 hours, Shipboard Time… (4)

Sora, me, Kairi, Jerry, Lea, Wizard, Aquanax, and Messerole, were at the main hold of the Falcon. Euryflavia and Tychophon were flying the ship. No one said a word. Sora because of the dream, Kairi because of what Sora told her, Lea because he was asleep on the wall, Aquanax and Messerole because they were playing rock-paper-scissors with one another, me because I'm not good at starting a conversation out of awkward silence, Wizard because he was spinning his GunDeLuna on his fingers, and Jerry because no one else said anything else. Just then, the silence was broken by Messerole.

"I win!", he said.

"Oh, all right.", the Acara sighed.

Just then, the Crystal Ring dispenser, which was on the table where my two Neopets played, began to react. It then dispensed one Crystal Ring.

"Attention all crew members!", Euryflavia spoke through the PA system installed on the ship by Wizard. "We have approached the next world. The name: Oakey Oaks."

"Good luck.", Aquanax said as the rest of us made our way to the Transwarp Room. I then realized Messerole was the 'next one' to go with me.

Part II. Invasion

Oakey Oaks…

Upon teleportation to the world, it was night in the suburban town when we landed on the streets. They were empty, as if abandoned.

"I don't remember this scenario…", I thought to myself.

"It's quiet.", said Sora.

"A little too quiet if you ask—", Lea began to say when suddenly, there was a scream. We all turned to where it was coming from.

We saw a young female duck (or cygnet) in a purple shirt, an unusually large male pig, a goldfish in a special helmet filled with water, and a familiar chicken, who was holding something that looked like a red, furry squid. As they bypassed us, Sora recognized someone in the foursome (not counting the 'squid').

"Chicken Little?", called out Sora. The small chicken stopped in his tracks.

"Sora?", he asked. He turned to his companions, who were still running. "Hey guys, stop! Here's someone who can help us!" The other three stopped.

"What is it, Chicken?", asked the pig. "We have to run! Otherwise, the aliens will destroy us!" He was in a state of panic.

"No guys, this is the guy I told you about. This is Sora." Chicken's friends looked at Sora.

"He doesn't look like much.", said the goose. The fish just shook his head.

"Hey!" retorted Sora.

"Sora?", asked Kairi. "Was he one of your summons?"

"Yeah. " Sora turned to Wizard, Lea, Jerry, and Messerole. "Guys, this is a friend I made. His name is Chicken Little." He turned to his once-summon and his friends. "Guys, these are my friends Kairi, Rael, Lea, Wizard, and Jerry."

"You forgot me.", pointed out Messerole.

"Oh, sorry. This is Messerole." The Grundo just grumbled.

"So you found Kairi?" asked Chicken. "Sora told me a lot of things about you. Like—"

"You don't know that?", I asked. "Sora still summoned you even after she joined us."

"Maybe, but she was never in my presence whenever I was called out."

"Oh. I see. "

"Uhh…so Chicken, who are your friends?", Sora asked.

"Oh well, this is Abby," he addressed the goose. "Fish," who was of course the fish. "and Runt." who was the large pig.

"Talk about an ironic name.", said Wizard to Lea.

"Eh, I've seen a big guy named Little John once."

"When?"

"Back when I was Axel and on a reconnaissance mission for the Organization. I was observing the world called Sherwood Forest."

"Who's the little critter on your arms?", Messerole asked Chicken.

"This is Kirby.", Chicken held up the 'squid'. It was small, red, and had two eyes, although it sometimes his one of its eyes or showed a third eye on occasion.

"What is that?", asked Jerry.

"An alien.", replied Chicken.

"Like you.", Jerry said to Messerole.

"Ha-ha. Real smooth.", the Grundo said as he rolled his eyes. Although I couldn't be sure as his eyes were just plain red without any visible iris.

"Where did you get him?", asked Kairi to Chicken.

"Long story, but we have to get it to its parents before they destroy the world!"

"What?", said the seven of us in unison.

"You see, they think we kidnapped him. But the truth is, he ended up on our world after we accidentally ended up in one of their ships. So if we don't get him back—"

"We're all dead!", screamed Runt in panic.

"For the last time Runt, we are not going to die.", Abby retorted.

"Excuse me.", said Kairi to Sora. "Don't we have to save the world?"

"I think we should do that." said Lea.

"Chicken, do all the aliens look like Kirby, or do they look different?", asked Sora.

"Well—"

Before Chicken could answer, an energy beam was shot at us. We looked at the attackers and Chicken handed Kirby to Abby.

"Guys, take Kirby to the bell tower. We'll meet you there!", he said.

"What about you?", she protested.

"Don't worry, I've done lots of fighting with Sora. Isn't that right?"

"He did help out a lot.", said Sora.

"In those 'skirmishes'.", I added as a snide remark.

"See. I'll be fine. Go!"

They nodded, and ran off. Chicken then drew his baseball bat.

"Now where did that come from?", Lea asked.

"The same place Donald, Goofy, and all our other companions who have 'regular' weapons get theirs from.", Messerole replied. "Hammerspace." Neopets have a special pocket of hyperspace to pull out stuff. That's how they can fight with as many as eight battle items in the Battledome.

"So…What are those? Heartless? Nobodies?", Chicken asked.

The attackers were large, bottom-heavy creatures with predominantly blue skin. Their feet curled up at the toes and their conical arms ended in round, silver, mitten-like hands. Their heads were spherical and sported two long antennae that hooked upward sharply. Their midsection was black with white highlights and lined by triangular patterns resembling teeth. Its red eyes are set in a happy expression and an unfamiliar symbol was emblazoned on their bellies.

"No. I don't think I've ever seen those before.", said Sora.

"If I were to guess, I'd say these are the Unversed.", answered Lea.

"What?", asked Chicken. No one could answer because one of Bruisers (5) raised its hands (which were equipped with blasters for some reason) and shot out two powerful beams of energy. Lea and Kairi jumped out of the way as did Sora who caught hold of Chicken. I raised my shield to defend myself and Wizard and Messerole hid behind me. Jerry however jumped in front, raised a palm, and stopped the beam, gathering it into a ball of energy.

"Whoa.", remarked Wizard. "Sir Pollonaire couldn't do that."

Jerry then unleashed the ball of energy right at the Bruisers, who reabsorbed the blasts. "That was a waste.", Jerry said. Just then, the Bruiser quickly charged right at him, and sent him flying. The Bruisers then charged right at Sora and Chicken. Sora tossed his little friend right at them and he blocked while Chicken ran to the Bruisers and smacked them around with his bat. Sora cast a Thunder spell but they absorbed it.

"Oh snap!", Lea exclaimed. "I remember that aura! It's the effect of Borsa Magib."

"What?", I asked, both asking him and incredulous with the name.

"It's a spell that allows one to absorb all magic and energy attacks on them."

"Dammit! I can't help you with them, then. My DirLuxGun uses energy attacks."

"Then let us handle them.", Kairi said as she dodged the Bruiser with the blasters, and threw her Keyblade at it, sticking it in its chest. It disappeared as Kairi ran to it, reappeared in her hand, and she sliced the Unversed in half and it dissipated. "Or use physical attacks!"

"Okay." Another Bruiser charged for me with a glowing belly, but Messerole jumped on my shoulders, off them, and tossed his wheel (it's **not** a chakram) and it sliced right through. I saw another Bruiser headed for me tossed by Jerry, and I shielded myself. The Bruiser hit the petal 'spikes' and was destroyed.

Chicken ran around a couple, then tripped one of them and when it hit the ground, he attacked it and it was gone. Lea and Wizard avoided their shockwave attacks and as they dodged around, Lea tossed his 'uncharged' chakrams (will only apply that term for him), and they sliced the Unversed into oblivion. Wizard rushed towards a bruiser and slid right into it (Techo Slide), then jabbed at it repeatedly upon reaching it (Techo Jab), destroying it.

"An all new foe.", Wizard sighed. "Just great."

"Where are the rest of the townsfolk?", I asked.

"The aliens have them.", Chicken explained. "They use a ray that disintegrates them and reassembles them somewhere else."

"How do you know about this?" I then thought, _It's not supposed to be known until after being hit by the ray as well._

"I don't know. A voice in my head told me."

"Self-assurance or telepathic message?", Lea asked Wizard.

"How in a Mutant Kadoatie's yowl should I know?"

"Mutant Kadoatie's yowl?"

"They're very annoying to hear. So much so that you lose 5,000 Neopoints just to make it stop."

"I wonder how much is that in munny?"

"I don't think there is a conversion system for that."

"Hey!", Messerole cut in "Stop talking! We got a fight to finish!"

"We have to get going before the aliens attack!", said Chicken.

"So, what do the aliens look like again?", asked Sora.

"Those.", he said in a small way. We turned away and saw three U.F.O.s with three rotating blades on the underside, and seemingly robotic heads. However, closer inspection shows that they are cockpits holding older versions of Kirby. They drew their weapons. And they drew guns. That were really big.

"Oh boy.", Lea grumbled.

"Compensating for something?", I gulped.

"We should run, shouldn't we?", asked Sora.

"I'm sure we can handle them", said Jerry.

"But returning Kirby is more important.", argued Kairi.

"Definitely.", agreed Messerole.

"Let's go!", yelled Chicken.

Part III. Return of the Three Truants

Sometime later…

After an encounter with Chicken Little's father, Buck Cluck, who had saved Chicken from an alien attack that we weren't able to handle as we were occupied at the time, we now hitched a ride on a fire truck, driven by Runt. Abby and Fish were on it as well. We were on top of the fire truck, repelling attacks from aliens and Unversed attacks. All the while, Runt was singing "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor.

As the sky seemed to waver, Lea then decided to ask, "Why is the sky like that?"

"The alien ship are covered in some sort of weird hologram thing.", explained Chicken. "A piece of it fell into my room one night. Back then, I thought the sky was falling and alerted the whole town, causing a panic. When I explained, I was branded a laughingstock. And then, sometime after a baseball game where we won, Fish suddenly activated the piece I found and ended up flying to the ship. We managed to follow and when we escaped, Kirby got out following us, although we did not know that yet. One of the ships was visible at the time, and some of the aliens were chasing us, so I alerted the town once more. However…"

"What?", asked Wizard.

"The ship disappeared before we could see it.", Buck continued for his son. "Everyone thought it was a practical joke, just like before. And I took their side instead of protecting my son. And then the aliens attacked. By that point, Chicken Little found the little alien and found out what they really wanted. However, at that time, I thought it was an invasion and once again, I didn't believe him. But I do believe him now."

The conversation was interrupted by an Unversed attack. These were almost like the "Musical Wizard" genus of Heartless, except they had the Unversed emblem on them. They were like little pots with little devil wings. Their eyes were also at the front of their bodies. The Red Hot Chili shot a blast of fire but Buck blocked the attack with his lid. The Yellow Mustard was about to pounce on him like a Yellow Opera but Jerry 'caught' it, then tossed it at the Blue Sea Salt, which had managed to hit me with an ice shot. Upon impact, energy streamers quickly covered me and when they dissipated, I was a Blue Kacheek again.

"Not again!", I complained.

As Wizard then destroyed the Unversed with well-placed shots, everyone turned to look at me in my changed form.

"What happened to you, Rael? ", asked Sora.

"This happened before back at Neopia.", said Kairi.

"I was on a trip to the Snowager to try and get some treasure, but I got frozen by his ice breath.", I explained. "The next thing I knew, when I got broken out of the ice, I was like this."

"But he then returned to normal after a fireball hit him."

"You think I should try?", Lea suggested. He produced a flame, ready to hit me. I gulped in nervousness.

"I will survive! I will survive!", Runt was singing. "Hey— HEY!"

We turned to where Runt was driving the moment he screamed to see that we were about to crash into a barricade of Bruisers. We ran over them, but the impact ejected all of us out of the truck. Luckily, we were already at the bell tower and the crash didn't hurt us much. And Runt didn't crash through the window as he had seat belts on. Abby and Fish were safe too, if a bit shaken.

"We should get going now.", suggested Sora as we all got up.

"That's not too much of a bad idea.", said Jerry.

"I think I'll try and make do in this form for now.", I told Lea. "See the advantages this form has."

"All right."

After getting Runt and Fish out of the truck, we made our way to the door. Abby, Runt, Fish, Kirby, and Buck made it across. Just before we could follow however, the aliens attacked in their saucers, separating us from them. As they each took a fighting stance, we noticed there were eight. Without a word, we charged.

Saucer A flew forward, blades whirling. Jerry jumped up and used the Force to get one of its blades to stab the bottom. With this, the saucer flew around crazily. After several loops, Jerry teleported off it and to the top. He stared the cockpit in the windows.

"Excuse me, would this be the 7 P.M. plane?" The alien said something he could not understand. "Oh." Jerry 'loosened' the screws, pulled off the cockpit, took the alien, and tossed him through an open window.

Saucers B and C attacked Lea, who simply tossed his chakrams and sliced the saucers in half…horizontally, separating the aliens from the machines. As the two aliens landed, they quickly fled.

Saucer D chased Messerole, who was running about. Just then, the Grundo leaped into the air, performed a 'double jump', landed on the Saucer's cockpit, blasted it open with dark energy, took out the alien, dropped him to the street, and drove the saucer.

Saucer E attacked Kairi, firing its lasers. Kairi used the Keyblade to block the blasts as they came. She then jumped to the ground as it was about to slam her. While it was overhead, she cut the hull of the ship. It came around again and Kairi used a Blizzara spell to freeze the laser cannon. It circled her a few times and charged her. She tightened her grip, and then dodged and made another cut. The alien ejected itself as the craft crashed into the ground.

Saucer F was attacking Wizard, who was hiding behind an overturned car like a cop. Knowing he's gonna run out of 'battery' soon, Wizard concentrated, then turned and fired at the saucer, destroying it in one hit and ejecting its pilot.

Saucer G was circling me fast, but wasn't shooting as I managed to disable its weapons earlier. My DirLuxGun was still as is, but my shield has shrunk to suit my new size. I wasn't able to do anything and was getting dizzy. I then saw it charge for me when all of a sudden, Messerole flew in with his stolen saucer before slamming it into my opponent, but not before jumping off with a second to spare and landing behind me.

"Please don't do that again.", I told him.

"Okay."

Saucer H attacked Sora and Chicken. Sora jump-rolled forward, Chicken grabbing hold of the Ultima Weapon. Sora then threw the bird and Chicken used his bat to hit the cockpit, smacking the alien inside. As the craft tumbled, Sora threw the Ultima Weapon. The spinning Keyblade cut through the alien's own blades. The saucer regained its momentum, then started to fire many lasers.

"Chicken Little!", Sora cried.

"Prepare to enter a world of hurt!", said Chicken Little as they started to perform their Limit: FPS. Chicken started to whack baseballs at the saucer, then Sora followed suit. They alternated between this and firecrackers, switching from time to time to throw off the opponent. Finally, they finished with a steady stream of both. The ship then collapsed on the ground.

"We'd better get going.", Sora said.

As we ran to the tower where Abby handed Kirby to Chicken. Just then, a smoke cloud exploded, blocking our view of the street.

"The hell?" Jerry exclaimed.

"I'm here, you know!", Messerole retorted, having told him not to cuss with a (young) Neopet around.

"Sorry."

"Prepare for trouble from some familiar foes.", an all-too-familiar voice said.

"Make it double, you should already know.", two more voices said.

The smoke slowly cleared to reveal three Neopets; a blue Draik with a machine gun, a green Krawk with a harpoon, and a Red Lutari with two katars.

"Oh, dung!", Wizard cussed.

Draik: "With darkness across the galaxy!"

Lutari: "Heartless is what we wish you to be!"

Krawk: "We're much better now, you see!"

Krawk and Lutari: "We'll show you our power and our smoke ball clouds!"

Draik: "And extend out reach _past_ Kingdom Hearts!"

Krawk: "Biggs!"

Lutari: "Jessie!"

Draik: "And Wedge in the lead! Wherever there is darkness in a world,"

Lutari: "The three of us—"

Krawk: "Will be there,"

All three: "To render it unfurled!"

A tumbleweed then passed by. Chicken and co. took this time to run up the stairs and bring Kirby home.

"What's with the new motto?", Wizard finally asked.

"Oh, you don't like it?", Wedge asked. "Then let's get to the butt-kicking part."

Biggs then took out a silver orb with a very familiar symbol.

"El Poep Selthrow!", he incanted. Then, out of portals, Nobodies appeared. Dusks and Dragoons to be exact.

"Nobodies!", exclaimed Wizard. "You guys can control Nobodies?"

"Not just us.", explained Jessie. "Thanks to these orbs, the whole Crescent Alliance can summon Nobodies to do their bidding."

"Hey!", said Biggs. "We're not supposed to tell them that!"

"Why are the Unversed here, I wonder?", Wedge mused. "No matter. Attack!"

As one, they and the Nobodies struck. Jerry blocked a tail attack from Jessie (Lutari Tail Slap). Wedge was firing at Chicken, who was running for his life as Sora fought off the Dragoons with Kairi, Lea, and Messerole. I, on the other hand, was evading Biggs's thrusts at me, some of which I whacked aside with my shield. He was faster than before I couldn't land a shot.

"Told you we're better than before." He then suddenly lunged to bite my face (Krawk Bite). I raised my shield in surprise and it knocked his jaw closed and scraped it.

"So are we.", I said as Messerole threw his wheel at Biggs and whacked off his harpoon. "How do you even know who I am?"

"Do I know you?"

"Never mind.", I then shot away at Biggs.

Meanwhile, Jerry was 'holding up' Jessie. He was about to throw her in front of Wizard when Wedge shot him with his machine gun, which luckily shot pellets for maiming.

"Thanks, Wedge.", the Lutari said to her comrade as Jerry stumbled into a group of Dragoons.

"No problem. Watch out!"

Jessie turned to deflect a thrown chakram by Lea with her katars. She then twirled in the air to dodge a Keyblade thrown by Sora…which destroyed a Dusk about to back-attack Wizard.

"Thanks, Sora.", the Techo said as he shot down another Dusk.

"I was aiming for Jessie.", Sora said as he recalled his Keyblade just in time to block an attack from a Dragoon, then performing a "Reaction Command"; he stole the Dragoon's lance, leaped into the air, then stabbed it with his Keyblade, destroying it.

"I'm getting tired of this!", I said as I took out a Summon Charm, which was shaped like a ball and was colored red on one half and white on the other.

"Butterfree!", I yelled.

_The Summon Charm enlarged into the size of a baseball, then opened at the division between the two colors, releasing a beam of light. The beam then formed a portal to open. From it emerged a butterfly-like creature._

Butterfree spun around and dispersed some kind of powder. Subconsciously knowing what it was, I covered my nose and mouth. My allies followed suit and we stayed clear. The powder hit our enemies and they fell asleep. The powder stopped and Butterfree then shot white string from his mouth, spinning around and binding them all. He then flew right at the bound Nobodies and sent them right at one another, eliminating some of them in the process. He then tackled the Three Truants right at one another. Butterfree then turned to me, nodded, and the portal opened again long enough for me to see a pink version of Butterfree, and for the summon Butterfree to cross it, returning to his world.

As the portal then closed, while everyone else dealt with the tied-up Nobodies, Jerry approached the Three Truants. He then smirked, 'lifted' them up, and sent them flying.

"Oh, no! Not again!", they yelled as they 'flew'…and eventually crashed a long distance away.

Suddenly, a flame hit me and there was a poofy cloud covering me. When it faded, I was back to normal.

"You're welcome.", Lea said as he blew on his pointer finger like it was a recently fired gun. I merely grumbled. As we regrouped, Chicken and company returned.

"Hey, where's Kirby?", asked Sora.

"We finally got him home.", answered Chicken.

"Well, that's good then.", said Kairi.

"Yup.", agreed Buck as we looking up at the now-clear night sky. "Nothing's more important than being home."

In all of a sudden however, something glowed in Chicken Little and his friends and father were surprised. Messerole was too as he hasn't seen this yet. The DirLuxGun then appeared on my left hand as I took out the crystal ring that glowed in my pocket.

"Looks like I'll be giving the heart this time.", I said as everything around me and Chicken vanished into black.

Then, below us, the mural appeared by hexagons, just like how the aliens' "hologram thing" worked. I looked down to see Chicken Little as its 'main character'. The 'outer ring' had baseballs, and the 'miscellaneous circles' had Runt, Fish, and his dad. Abby's had a heart around her. I looked around and realized there were other 'murals' in the distance although I couldn't see them clearly. I decided to put this matter at the back of my mind and worry later.

Knowing what to do, I jumped into the air, slowly turned to the mural, and tossed the Crystal Ring to Chicken. Once the ring 'passed' the candidate and the Keyhole and Heart appeared, I aimed the DirLuxGun at the Keyhole and fired a beam into it. Like before, the Heart shone and eventually engulfed all of us. Soon, we were 'back'. After explaining what we had explained to Flik back at Ant Island, we bid farewell. Just before we left, Chicken asked for a favor.

Part IV. Champions and Treasures (6)

We were on a karaoke stage. The townsfolk, returned by the aliens, were seated as the audience. Abby, Runt, Fish, and Buck were there too.

Chicken ran across the karaoke stage with a chair. He placed it in front of the machine, then climbed up it and went through the songs. He found one he liked, pushed the button, and dragged the chair off stage.

_Now Playing: We Are the Champions by Queen_

Chicken: _(sliding onto the stage on his knees) We are the champions, my friends! _

Sora and me: _(Sora sliding onto the stage on his knees, me just walking in) We'll keep on fighting 'til the end!_

Kairi: _(dancing onto the stage) We are the champions!_

Jerry and Messerole: _(teleporting in, the latter with the former) We are the champions!_

Wizard and Lea: _(entering via Dark Corridor) No time for losers!_

All: _'Cause we are the champions! Of the world!_

"I don't like this song.", said a blue owl with a certain badge on him. "I think I'm gonna change it."

The owl then spread his wings and there was a wave of light. I noticed it for a second, but when it hit, we were suddenly 'changed'. A different song then played. It seemed to come from the karaoke machine, and it showed a show I was familiar with.

_Now Playing: Daiji na Takarabako (The Important Treasure Box) by Asumi Nakata_

I don't know why, but when the song started, I left like I knew the lyrics. The others seemed to feel it too. We also started dancing and it felt good.

Kairi: _Namima wo suberu you ni _

Sora: _(moving next to Kairi)_ _Shiroi YOTTO marude origami _

Me: _(moving in between the two) Nai de kaze ni makasete _

Jerry: _(teleporting next to Sora) Doko e iku no? Chicchakunatte_

Wizard: _(walking next to Kairi) Konna soba ni iru no ni _

Lea: _(Moving his way to Sora) Kimochi ni hasawarenai_

Messerole: _(running just in front of my feet) Shinjisasete HONTO no futari wo _

Chicken: _(sliding into the middle on his knees) Tashikamete_

All: _Takarabako no KAGI _

Sora: _Akete ageru yo _

Chicken: _SUNAO ni nareru_

All: _Modokashii omoi _

Kairi: _Tsuyoi yuuki ni _

Me: _Kawatteiku yo zutto _

All: _Suki to ieru_

The rest of it was a blur, but it felt good.

Translation of the song above:

_Gliding on the waves like a white origami yacht,_

_Leaving everything to the calming wind, where will I go? As I become closer from place to place..._

_Even though you're so close to me, I can't touch your feelings for me._

_I want to make you believe in the truth between the two of us and confirm it for me._

_I can open my treasure box for you with my key, if you can become more gentle._

_Your impatient feelings will change into courage_

_And then I can tell you I'll love you forever._

-Yellow Travelers Chronicler-

**Joel Sontem**

_One of the Fusiliers of Shadows. He fought Sora and me in a shared dream. he told Sora that despite their differences, they were quite alike, and that both of them can use the power of twilight. However, during their talk about the dangers of the path of darkness, Sora was led to worrying about ending Kairi's life, although Joel did wish it wouldn't be so._

**Abby Mallard**

_Chicken Little (2005)_

_Also known as "Ugly Duckling"._

_She is one of Chicken's friends. Despite the insults on her appearance, she takes a generally optimistic approach to life. She also seems to have a crush on Chicken._

**Runt of the Litter**

_Chicken Little (2005)_

_One of Chicken's friends. A large pig who tends to get very paranoid and panicky. While he may seem big compared to most others, he claims he is far smaller than other members of his family._

**Fish Out of Water**

_Chicken Little (2005)_

_One of Chicken's friends. He wears a scuba helmet filled with water to breathe. Fish can't talk properly so he gurgles and acts out what he feels. He can also get a little erratic, isn't shy, and would perform brave stunts without fear._

**Kirby**

_Chicken Little (2005)_

-Note to self: not to be confused with that pink ball.- (8)

_Kirby is a small alien child lost from his home after Chicken and company ended up getting involved with the aliens. He was finally returned to his family._

**Buck "Ace" Cluck**

_Chicken Little (2005)_

_Chicken Little's father. After an event the previous year involving the claim of the sky falling by his son, he was ashamed and usually tried to keep his son's profile low and cares more about the approval of his peers than of his son. Eventually, that changed during the alien attack._

**Butterfree**

_Pokémon: Indigo League (1998)_

_A Pokémon once owned by a trainer named Ash Ketchum. After some time together, he was eventually released to live with Pink Butterfree, who was encountered during their travels._

(1) If you've seen the Prologue or played Neopets, then you'd know what I'm saying.

(2) In case you don't realize, I just made a pun on Sora's VA. The same goes for Riku's and Kairi's for the other FoS's.

(3) Xion from _358/2 Days_ in case you're curious. She's in that because nobody in the series remember her, save for the info we found back at KHR2 and her name.

(4) I believe this is how it's said in StarCraft II during the Wings of Liberty campaign after missions and cutscenes.

(5) Yes, I'm trying to use the original Unversed from _Birth By Sleep_.

(6) In case you forgot, the first case of this was during the Prologue. Almost for got about this, in fact.

(7) This last part is just for fun and has no plot advancement.

(8) When you hear Kirby, who do you think of first, huh?

nightelf37: What. Was. That?

?: That would be me.

nightelf37: Who are you?

?: I'm Dicto Simpliciter, a member of the Story Crew.

nightelf37: You're named after a logical fallacy?

Dicto: Yes.

nightelf37: Why'd you do that at the karaoke house? I wanted 'their' appearance in the prologue to be _its_ only cameo for now.

Dicto: Sorry.

nightelf37: It's okay. I liked it. And for the credits.

_Zach Braff as Chicken Little_

_Joan Cusack as Abby Mallard_

_Dan Molina as Fish out of Water_

_Steve Zahn as Runt of the Litter_

_Garry Marshall as Buck "Ace" Cluck_

Dicto: Stay tuned.

nightelf37: That's my line.

Dicto: Think of something more original.

nightelf37: Fine.


	5. Chapter 4: TCO: Platinum Princess

Euryflavia: Are you certain about this chapter?

nightelf37: Sure, why not?

Euryflavia: Well, is it really okay to elect a kid as a candidate?

nightelf37: Of course. Sora, Riku, and Kairi were granted the power to wield a Keyblade as kids. It's just that it wasn't until they were teens did they get to wield them.

Euryflavia: Okay. What's the difference between the Keyblade Inheritance Ceremony (Rite of Succession) and election via Crystal Ring?

nightelf37: It's spoilers.

Euryflavia simply stares at nightelf37.

nightelf37: Oh, all right. You know all those special skills the Keyblade wielders in _Birth By Sleep_ showed?

Euryflavia: You mean the Command Style, Dimension Link, Keyblade Glider, and Keyblade Armor?

nightelf37: Yes.

Euryflavia: Lemme guess…the Crystal-Ring bestowed wielders do not possess those powers?

nightelf37: Yes. Anyway, remember, only the OCs belong to me. The plot in this chapter is derived from an episode of a animé by Gainax Studios. This is my first time I crossed over Kingdom Hearts with an animé, so bear with me. Also, apologies for mentioning Neopets terms early on in this chapter.

Random Fact: "Your Other Left" is the first trope in _TV Tropes_ that I have ever visited.

Chapter 4: TCO: Platinum Princess

Part I. Meeting Up

Five Realms: Fairy World…

Mickey's team descended into a desolated wasteland. It was barren and—were I here—I would've compared the surface to that of the planet Mars. There were a few trees around but they seemed to be dead. The sky was a deep blue, adding a little creepiness to the place.

"Wow.", said Babolino. "I've never seen so many worlds at close proximity with one another."

"I think they are linked to one another by magical means.", spoke Crystal.

Prior to landing, the Crystal Ring dispenser indicated, the Monarch's crew saw that the world they were about to land in was close to five other worlds. As the dispenser's signal didn't exactly point out which world exactly they had to land in, they had to navigate around, and they saw six worlds.

The first one seemed to be a regular village that (to Babolino and Foltaggio) seemed to be reminiscent of Meridell, although there wouldn't be Neopets in there of course.

The second world seemed to be an abandoned version of the first one, although one can't help but wonder if its residents are just invisible, just like those of Neovia back in Neopia before the "Tale of Woe" 'plot'.

The third world looked like it was supposed to be a menacing underworld with demons and the like, yet there were giant 'stickers' of 'happy' stuff like flowers and rainbows here and there.

The fourth world was completely white and artificial-looking, and judging by its appearance perhaps a world where winged people reside.

The fifth world seemed to be in ruins and at the verge of falling apart. However, there don't seem to be any people and it seemed miraculous (to Mickey) that it still existed and had not disappeared to the darkness by way of its Keyhole found by the Heartless.

The sixth world, the world they landed in, seemed like it was supposed to be a world of nature, but their landing here showed otherwise. (1)

"How is **this** world so desolate when it looked so vibrant with life back at space?", wondered Django.

"Who knows?" Babolino shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe there's an evil being here that needs to be defeated for this world to return to what it used to be."

"So, uhh…where do you think this guy could be, Your Majesty?", Joe asked the king.

"Please, guys.", said Mickey. "Since we'll be on the road for a while, I'd like you to just call me Mickey, okay?"

"Uhh…sure. So…"

"What makes you think only males can be 'candidates'?", said Crystal. "After all, there's Kairi, Fiorina, and Hayden. Right, Mickey?"

"Right.", the king agreed.

"Let's just hurry it up, okay?", Foltaggio said impatiently. "The sooner we find the candidate, the better."

"Or candidate**s**.", Django added.

"It's just one.", Mickey said. "The dispenser only deposited one Crystal Ring."

"Oh, okay."

"What's that over there?", Babolino asked.

Everyone turned to where he was pointing. There was a giant tree in the horizon, which miraculously still had its leaves, but it looked like it was experiencing the autumn season and seemed to be enclosed within an area lined by protruding roots.

"I have a bad feeling about this.", Joe said.

"What's that over there?", Babolino asked again.

Everyone turned again to where he was pointing to see a ball of light in the distance. Joe borrowed a pair of Crystal's high-tech binoculars and took a closer look at the light. Crystal took another pair and looked as well.

As the ball of light was about to pass over them, upon closer inspection, they could see five young girls dressed up for battle. However, these girls seemed to be quite young. Younger than Kairi even.

The first one had dark blue hair, with a slim forelock of it curved forward like an antenna, and brown eyes. She was dressed in red armor and wielded a sword. She also wore a pair of small yellow earrings.

The second one had pale cyan hair cut in a shorter length than the first one and with straight-cut side locks trimmed to cheek level. Her eyes were deep blue and she wore a small pair of glasses. She was dressed in green armor and wielded a spear.

The third one was dark-skinned, green-eyed, and had lavender hair with perfectly level bangs trimmed just above her upper eyelids and was tied up in two long pigtails. She seemed to be "well-endowed" compared to the rest. She wore black, spiky armor and wielded a spiked club.

The fourth was light-skinned like the first two, had blue eyes, and had blonde hair reaching to her back, styled in what Crystal called a "Hime Cut", and had a blue headband on it. She was dressed in white elegant armor with blue accents and wielded a bow. She didn't seem to have a quiver with her though.

The fifth had pink hair that was as short as a boy's. Her eyes were also pink. On her head was a special headgear of some kind. Unlike the others before her, instead of armor, she wore what seemed to be a navy blue tunic and a white ascot. Also, she didn't seem to wield any weapon, giving Joe the guess that she was probably a spellcaster or something.

"Hey.", Joe said. "They look like…like…"

"Kids.", Crystal finished.

"How old?", Foltaggio asked.

"About ten perhaps."

"Ten?"

"I've seen younger fighters."

"Robots and clones don't count, Crystal.", Joe told her as he put away the binoculars. "And neither do plants."

"Now how did we get to that?", Crystal argued as she did the same.

"Never mind that.", Mickey said. "The light seems to be headed to the tree."

"Should we follow them?", Foltaggio asked.

"I think we should. Maybe we'll find the 'candidate' among them."

"Or at least they could lead us to where said 'candidate' could be."

Everybody started to run to where the light was headed. Well, Babolino flew. As they made their way to the big tree in the distance, Crystal took out the topaz in her rifle, took out what seemed to be an emitter of some kind, and inserted the gem inside it. A faint glow then emanated from the gem and the group seemed to be moving at a faster rate.

"Whoa!", gasped Foltaggio. "I feel like a ninja."

"What was that you just did?", Babolino asked.

"My gems aren't ordinary ones. Together in my rifle, they give power to it. Individually in this emitter, they grant enchancements. The Topaz grants enhanced speed. With this, I think we can catch up with the candidates."

KHKHKHKHKH

A little later…

Mickey and co. were still on the move then they noticed something. There was a scream in the distance.

"You hear that?", Foltaggio asked.

"Yeah.", Mickey agreed. "Someone's in trouble."

"Over there!", Django said, pointing somewhere.

Everybody turned to see a herd of animals on the run. There were all kinds of forest fauna; rabbits, otters, deer, foxes, and even bears. There were also a few sprites (2) fleeing with them. Pursuing them was a mass of evil-looking thorny roots that dug in and out of the ground. It reminded Crystal a bit of 'sea serpents'.

"We gotta help them!", Joe said.

"Way ahead of you!", agreed Crystal. "We're slowing down."

Crystal took out her Topaz from the emitter and returned it to her rifle. As the emitter ceased glowing, everybody slowed to an eventual stop. Everybody except for Babolino that is, who was headed straight for the roots. Just before he went past the forest critters, who then hid behind the dead trees, he had his Gun-Arm and PixieShot ready. He quickly fired with everything he got, sending sparkling shots right at the enemy. Unfortunately, while he did destroy some of the roots, the shots didn't seem to be enough as more were headed his way. And considering his current velocity, he was sure to get hit. And hard. And nobody was close enough to save him in time.

Just before that could happen, somebody went in the way. It was a girl with short pink hair in battle clothes and a special helmet of some kind. He guessed it was probably to amplify magical power. She was one of the girls Joe and Crystal spotted earlier. She stood in front of the roots and made some kind of movement. A series of air blades then emerged in front of her, harmlessly bypassing him, and destroying the roots, leaving a fissure in its wake.

Babolino managed to slow down and land next to the fissure the girl's wind attack just made. Just then, both of their companions came over. Also, the forest critters came out of their hiding places upon seeing what just happened. Everybody gathered together, then they noticed Mickey and his company, especially Babolino.

"Never seen you guys around here before.", the pink-haired girl said.

"Uhh…", Babolino uttered.

KHKHKHKHKH

Because some of the 'natives' weren't…native to the world they were currently in, Mickey, Foltaggio, and Babolino were seen as how Joe, Django, and Crystal see them. (3) To avoid confusion with the actual 'natives' of this world, Mickey pulled out a special trinket, then held it in the air. In a second, there was a flash, and there was more confusion, but that was quickly settled.

"What did you just do?", Django asked.

"I just temporarily nullified our clothes' magical effects. They should see us exactly as we are. They still won't question our appearance though."

"I see."

"All right, mouse.", the dark-skinned girl said. "Explain why you're here."

Mickey turned to the girl with a scornful look, then regained his composure. In a couple of minutes, he explained, with Django making up a good excuse on why they were here. After that, both groups were introduced to each other.

The pink-haired girl who just took down the roots (and saved Babolino) was Beth, the princess of this world, the Fairy World. The tree up in the distance was, as much as they couldn't believe, her father. He turned into his current form to seal Diabolos, who is an evil entity that feeds off on the essence of a world. A world infected by it would have all life on it absorbed by Diabolos and eventually die. It would then spread to other nearby worlds by any means possible.

_Much worse than the Heartless._, Django thought. _A world consumed by Diabolos has no hope of being restored._

The lavender-haired girl who had insulted Mickey seconds earlier was Glenda, the princess of the Demon World…

"With elegant beauty and fantastic magical powers.", she added.

Babolino asked if the world they saw with the 'happy stickers' was the Demon World, and was answered with a beating. She was stopped by her friends before the Kacheek could suffer any more injuries.

The blond-haired girl was Elmina, the princess of the Sky World. She had introduced herself in a calm and formal manner, and didn't seem to be the expressive sort.

The cyan-haired girl in green armor was Cocoloo, the princess of the Spirit World. When Joe inquired if the seemingly abandoned ghost town was her world, she nodded and added that only those pure of heart (or at least Platinum Princess candidates) can see them. ("Unaided, that is.", Joe muttered.)

The blue-haired girl in red armor was Yucie, the Platinum Princess candidate from the Human World. As far as everyone knew, she herself wasn't an actual princess. Upon seeing her, especially the exposed forehead, Mickey seemed to widen his eyes in realization. He seemed to have seen her before, but the memory of where was a little fuzzy.

After the introductions, one of the sprites approached Beth. She wore a blue tunic and had blond hair.

"Beth!", she called out.

"Are you okay?", Beth asked.

The sprite nodded, then noticed the other girls. "It's you from last time! What are you still doing here?" She then turned to Mickey and co. "And who are these new people?"

"Isn't it obvious?", Glenda answered, club over her shoulder. "We are here to defeat Diabolos."

"Defeat Diabolos? No way, just you guys?"

"Do you see anyone else here?"

"But…but that's impossible."

"What?"

"Now, now, now…", Yucie cut in, breaking up the argument. "What's the point in bickering now? Stop it." She turned to the rest of the forest critters. "Right, let's all fight together. Instead of just us, wouldn't it be better if we all fought together?"

She was answered with nothing but silence.

"No need.", Beth said as she came over to Yucie and placed a hand on her shoulder. She then turned to the forest critters. "It's okay. You guys escape to a safe area. Father will definitely save us!" She turned again to Yucie. "Let's go!"

"Okay."

"We're with you.", Mickey said. "We won't let something like this destroy your or **any** world if we can help it." He turned to the others. "Right, guys?"

Django, Babolino, Joe, Crystal, and Foltaggio nodded in unison. "Right."

Soon, everyone ran for the tree, ready to do what they needed to do. Just before following, Glenda turned to the forest critters and said, "You 'fraidy-cats! That's it, run away, hurry!" Cocoloo called her to hurry up, and soon enough, the forest critters were left behind.

Part II. Black Roots and the Heartless

As the eleven made their way to Beth's father (the tree), Elmina had a question. "How was Diabolos able to get the power to break free?"

"He didn't break out with his own power.", Beth answered. "It's because Father's power is weakening."

"But how?", Yucie asked.

"That monster found my father's source of power in the depths of the Fairy World and dried it."

"What a disgraceful creature!", Glenda commented. "I'm hating him more and more."

"So, if it would rain and lots of water would fall, wouldn't the Fairy King regain his power?", Yucie suggested.

"Maybe.", Beth answered. "But with my power alone, I can't make enough rain to revive Father. It's not possible."

"But don't we have someone else here who can make it rain?" She made a side glance at Glenda.

"Hmph! I guess I have no choice.", the Demon World princess said upon noticing. "Although it's something I don't normally do, I'll do this one thing for you!"

"Do you know any ninjutsu for this purpose?", Joe asked Foltaggio.

"Sorry no. I'm limited to shadow-related jutsus."

"What about shadow clones?" (4)

"…Now where did that come from?"

Joe shrugged his shoulders "I don't know. Never mind."

"Okay. And for the record, yes. I can make shadow clones."

"Wait a second.", Cocoloo said. "Before the rain can reach the King, won't it be intercepted by those roots?"

"That's what he'll try to do.", Yucie agreed. "So, Cocoloo and I will take care of the roots."

"You can count on us too, Yucie.", Joe said.

"Thanks."

"If that is what you need, I will also—" Elmina was about to say.

Yucie seemed to know what she was gonna say. "Right, but there's something else I want to ask of you."

"Of me?"

"Before the roots appear from underground, the ground is going to rise. So, I want you to keep a lookout in the air and tell us when you spot them."

"I understand."

"I'll be with her.", Babolino offered.

"Wow.", Joe remarked. "For a kid, she sure is smart."

"We're all actually seventeen years old.", Elmina said. "However, a curse has us stuck as how you see us."

"Okay. So that's why."

"If we all combine our powers, I'm sure we'll succeed!", Yucie finished. Everyone just stood there, silent and dumbfounded.

_Who died and made her leader?_, Foltaggio thought.

Yucie noticed the looks on everyone's faces and looked behind her nervously. "What is it?", she asked.

Elmina let out a short giggle. "Nothing. Nothing at all.", she then said, earning her a frown from Yucie.

"Fine. let's do it!", Beth said.

Glenda approached Yucie and smacked her forehead as she passed. "Hey! If we're going through with this, let's hurry up and get to our positions."

"I agree.", voiced Foltaggio. "The longer we wait, the stronger Diabolos gets."

"That hurt…", Yucie moaned from the hit. "Geez! You didn't have to slap my forehead!"

"Hey, it's you fault for having such a huge, slappable forehead.", Glenda argued in a teasing manner.

KHKHKHKHKH

Soon…

Everybody was in position. Elmina unfurled her feathered wings, which weren't there a minute ago, and took to the skies. Babolino followed her.

Joe set up a perimeter by taking out a seed packet and sprinkling its contents all over the field. In seconds, there was a ring of flower pots. Joe then took out another packet and did the same thing as before. This time, strange plants with bulb-like heads came out from the soil in the flower pots. They seemed to have eyes, brows in an angry expression, and leaves that seemed to represent hair. Joe called them Repeaters. Joe then took out yet another packet and sprinkled its contents onto the Repeaters. In a second, they gained helmets, and two streaks across their faces. They were now Gatling Peas.

Yucie, Cocoloo, Mickey, Django, Foltaggio, Crystal, and Joe himself stood outside the ring, ready to take on the roots Diabolos would send right at them. Glenda and Beth were in the center of the ring, preparing to cast their spell.

"Everything okay!", Yucie said once everyone was ready. She then turned to Elmina and called out her name. The Sky World princess waved back with a smile. Babolino waved back as well, even though he wasn't called. Everyone else had looked up too.

"This is strange…", Beth said. Glenda looked at her in confusion. "After hearing Yucie's words, I really feel like I can do it."

"That girl is just a brat who talks too much.", the Demon World princess replied. "On a more important note," She then set her club on the ground. "Don't disturb my casting."

"That's my line. Let's do it." With that, both of them raised their hands into the air, ready to do their stuff.

Just then, there were cracks on the ground headed towards the perimeter Joe set up. Elmina and Babolino caught sight of this.

"It's come!", the Sky World princess said. "From behind and the right!"

Suddenly, something else came, heralded by a strange sound in the air familiar only to Django and Mickey. Heartless. Red Nocturnes, Green Requiems, Armored Knights, and Surveillance Towers appeared alongside the roots and were converging into the perimeter as well.

"Heartless!", the Kacheek reported. "Coming in all directions!"

"From behind too?", Yucie gasped at Elmina's 'report' as the roots came into view. At that second, the Gatling Peas started pelting the oncoming roots, with minimal effect.

"Heartless?", Mickey gasped at about the same time upon hearing Babolino.

"Heartless?", Cocoloo asked.

"Manifestations of darkness from people's hearts.", Foltaggio warned. "They're extremely dangerous!"

Immediately, everybody rushed right into the enemy. Crystal fired energy bolts from her rifle, taking out several Heartless with one hit each. Foltaggio manifested shadow clones and they all zipped around the Armored Knights and Surveillance Towers, slashing at them from behind and jumping off them when necessary to get at the Green Requiems.

As Django was shooting down the opposition, a root headed right for him. It was too close to dodge. Before he could get hit, Cocoloo pushed him out of the way and the root…phased through her body. Needless to say, Django was utterly surprised and nearly fainted. As the root stopped in confusion, Cocoloo curiously poked it with her spear and it immediately crumbled to dust.

Meanwhile, Mickey was jumping about and slashing at the roots with his Keyblade, cutting them up in one hit. As he landed on the ground, an Armored Knight came up from behind. Before he could swing his Keyblade to attack it, it was vanquished by a sword slash. The monarch saw that it was from Yucie.

"Thanks, Yucie.", said the King.

"No problem."

"I'll take care of the Heartless. You do the roots." While any weapon can take down a Heartless, only a Keyblade or a Gun of Light can 'purify' them so they can go to Kingdom Hearts. Mickey wasn't sure if the Fusils of Shadows could do the same thing.

"Okay!"

As Crystal vaporized a bunch of Surveillance Towers, all of a sudden, the roots started to head skyward towards Elmina and Babolino.

"Watch out!", she called as Wyvern Heartless also appeared.

Elmina and Babolino saw the roots and Heartless head straight for them and the two dodged as they headed for them. Babolino fired his weapons at them and hurled luminous orbs of light, destroying them as they came. As they converged to a certain point, Elmina readied her bow and pulled back the bowstring. An arrow of light then manifested and she let it loose at the cluster. There was an explosion of light, which wiped out the Wyverns and the roots.

Below, Joe's plants were doing a good job in holding off the roots and the Heartless long enough for someone else to finish them off. Just then…

"Rain!", Beth and Glenda incanted.

All of a sudden, a black portal appeared above the tree and dark clouds expanded from it. Raindrops fell down from the clouds and the roots started to melt away.

"We did it.", cheered Beth.

The Heartless were obviously unaffected, but they were swiftly dealt with. Soon, the battle was over. For now at least. Everyone was gathered together. Joe took out a special device. It shined a light and his plants seemed to fade out of existence. The Platinum Princess candidates were naturally puzzled, but Joe and Crystal quickly stopped them from asking as they all looked back at the tree.

"With this rain, the Fairy King can revive his power.", Elmina stated as clouds circled it.

The tree bark, which was black, was starting to revert to brown as the darkness was washed away. Just as the last of it was gone however, a crack then came from the tree. It wasn't an ordinary one as light was coming out of it. An explosion shortly followed, forcing everyone to brace themselves.

Part III. Diabolos Attacks

As soon as the dust cleared, everybody turned to the tree.

"Father!", Beth gasped.

From the hole that the explosion seemed to make, a dark-magenta dragon with glowing red eyes and three pairs of wings emerged. It was many times larger than a Darkside Heartless, and was just as big as Xemnas and Black Ranger's large machines Mickey, Django, and the old Lumus Squad fought once before.

As it got off the tree, it brought down a gigantic foot on the ground, shaking it. Everybody took a step back. Joe took out a pair of blasters. Their barrels were shaped like his Repeater plants, but were colored red.

"Is this Diabolos?", Mickey asked as he gripped his Keyblade tightly.

"Yes.", Beth answered.

Diabolos then brought down its other foot, creating a fissure that headed straight for the heroes. Everybody went out of its way. However, the fissure expanded under Yucie and Joe's feet, rendering them unable to move.

"Joe!", Crystal gasped as she ran towards him.

"Yucie!", Glenda cried out as she came to her assistance. Both of them pushed their companions off the crack…which then opened to swallow them up.

"Crystal!", Babolino gasped as he came to her rescue.

"Glenda!", Elmina gasped about the same time as she did likewise for the Demon World princess.

"Guys!", gasped Mickey. The four were down at a ledge, safe from falling down the abyss. For now at least.

"We're okay.", Babolino assured him. "You guys run for it quick!"

"B-But…", Yucie began to protest.

"We're okay! Now hurry and go!", Glenda told her. "Don't you dare look down on me, the princess of the Demon World!"

"The princess of the Sky World is with her, so please don't worry.", Elmina added.

"You know me, Joe.", Crystal said. "I'm not going down so easy."

"Okay.", Yucie said. "I understand." She turned to the others. "Let's retreat before—"

"Uh-oh!", Joe gasped as he turned to the tree.

"It's here!", Beth gasped.

Diabolos was very close now. In fact, it was looming over them. It reared up its head and then let loose an energy breath attack. Beth instantly placed one hand on the ground and a wall of rocks rose to block the attack. It wasn't enough to stop it however and the wall was smashed through, sending those it was protecting flying backwards and rolling across the ground.

Roots then emerged from underground, picked them up, and dangled them in the air. The heroes were gripped so tightly that not even Foltaggio, Django, or Mickey could will their weapons forth in an attempt to save themselves and their comrades. The roots were pulling them in, Yucie in particular as she somehow managed to keep her grip on her sword. As Diabolos opened his mouth, Yucie closed her eyes and screamed at the top of her lungs.

Part IV. Reinforcements

Just before all hope could be lost, there was a twinkle in the sky. Django managed to keep his eyes open to see a grey dragon. Somebody was on its back. As the dragon passed between the two, the rider drew a sword from its hilt and slashed. The roots holding Yucie and Mickey were severed and the two were sent flying. They were promptly caught by the grey dragon.

Upon it, Yucie hesitantly opened her eyes. She then recognized her savior. Mickey got up as well and saw that it was a young man. His hair was blonde (although a shade darker than Elmina's), his eyes were green, and he wore brown traveler's robes.

"Arc?", Yucie gasped.

"You've gained a little weight, Princess.", Arc teasingly greeted.

Yucie frowned from the insult, then asked, "B-but… what is this…"

Meanwhile, the rest were also rescued as they rode the dragon. Prior to their rescue, Django managed to take a good look at the dragon. It was gray, four-legged, and looked very old, judging by the sags in the skin and the holes in the wings. "Drago?", Yucie cried out in surprise.

"You know this dragon?", Django asked.

"He's a wise friend who lives in the lake." She then turned to Arc. "But why are you here with him?"

"Do not talk so loudly about someone behind his back.", Drago said.

"The dragon talks?", Joe asked in surprise.

"You've already seen one, remember?", Foltaggio reminded him. "Before we left Radiant Garden for our mission."

"Who? Oh." he remembered. My Shoyru Tychophon was technically a dragon.

"We're not the only ones who came.", Arc told Yucie. "Look below."

Yucie looked over Drago and saw Diabolos continuing to wreak havoc. Joe took out the binoculars he borrowed from Crystal and looked through them.

The forest critters were being evacuated. At first, Joe could only see three individuals, but soon enough, he noticed five showing the way to safety.

"I can see a young dark-skinned boy in black clothing.", Joe said.

Yucie noticed and told him (and the others) who they were, "That's Cube, my steward and friend. I think I heard he once served Glenda, but was banished by her mother."

"I see a green-haired sprite in with a yellow hat and dress."

"Belbel, Beth's steward."

"Is that a little ghost I see?"

"Chawoo, Cocoloo's steward."

"I see large golden robot. Wait, a robot in a magical realm?"

"Balizan, Elmina's steward. The inhabitants of the Sky World use robots because of their perfectionist way of life."

"I see a tall, black-bodied old guy with long silver hair and cat-like ears."

"Gaga, Glenda's **current** steward."

"I can't believe all the Platinum Princess candidates have stewards, including you, not being a princess and all.", remarked Django.

"Technically, he serves my Papa."

"Oh, that explains it."

Below, as they led the last of the forest critters to safety, the Princess candidates' stewards were suddenly surrounded by roots, but Balizan shot lasers out of his eyes and burnt them to a crisp.

"Leave the rest to us!", said Arc. "We'll strike down that monster!"

Just then, Diabolos landed his root on the ground hard, and turned it from red to lifeless purple as energy seemed to be flowing into his body. Meanwhile, the Platinum Princess candidates and Joe were dropped off. Mickey, Django, and Foltaggio decided to ride with Arc into the fight. As they left, Yucie seemed to look on in worry.

As Diabolos seemingly drained the world of its energy, Drago flew over and tackled him, trying to knock him off balance. Diabolos retaliated by sending out tendrils outward. Drago slashed the first with his (short) claws, but was then strangled by the next ones.

"We'll take care of this!", Arc said as he, Foltaggio, and Mickey ran up Drago's neck and cut him free of the tendrils. Django looked below to see the roots grow small flowers, which spawned little fiends, which swarmed right for Drago. And to add to the problems, Gargoyle and Darkball Heartless appeared all around them.

Arc hacked away at the enemy the best he could. Mickey swung his Keyblade around and cast Light spells, which destroyed many of these fiends at a time. Django shot away at the opposition, making each shot count as he was almost running out of power. Foltaggio swung his Keyblade around and tossed shurikens on occasion, all of which sliced through many fiends. Since they were in the air and so numerous, he couldn't use his shadow manipulation powers that came with his Sealed Weapon. However, no matter how many they defeated, the fiends and Heartless kept coming.

"There's no end to this!", Arc complained seconds before they were all overwhelmed by the fiends, which were too numerous for the Heartless to try and butt in and do what they exist to do; steal Hearts.

Below, Yucie and the others witnessed all of this happen while fighting Heartless on the ground. She, Cocoloo, Beth, and Joe were facing Armored Knights, Soldiers, Silver Rocks (light-users), and Emerald Blues (wind-users).

Joe had used his special device to recall the Gatling Peas deployed earlier to help protect themselves. One Emerald Blues, surrounded itself with vacuum blades and rammed itself into a Gatling Pea, toppling it over. It was subsequently vanquished by a wind attack from Beth. Before she ran back to deal with more, she took the liberty to right it back up.

A number of Armored Knights headed for Joe, but the Gatling Peas pelting them managed to eliminate them. He stood in place, firing little fireballs at the enemy as they ignored his plants since they lacked Hearts for the Heartless to steal.

Meanwhile, Yucie and Cocoloo were back-to-back, holding off Armored Knight and Soldier attacks, swinging their sword/spear. Just then, as Yucie slashed down a group of Soldiers, a Silver Rock teleported right into Cocoloo's face and she raised her spear by impulse, slicing at the Heartless and destroying it. An Armored Knight then came right at her, but she managed to skewer it.

"We can't waste time here!", Beth said as she punched the ground and rock spikes protruded from the ground, skewering all the remaining Heartless. "There's something else we must do." With that, Yucie, Cocoloo, and Joe followed her lead, the latter dismissing his plants like before.

Meanwhile, while everyone on Drago was overrun by fiends, Mickey was having certain thoughts in his mind. He can't fail. Not here. Not now. Just then, he felt a memory enter his mind. It was him writing a letter to Donald before leaving to seek out the Kingdom Key D.

_Donald,_

_Sorry to rush off without sayin' goodbye, but there's big trouble brewin'._

_Not sure why, but the stars have been blinkin' out, one by one. And that means disaster can't be far behind. I hate to leave you all but I've gotta go check into it._

_There's someone with a "Key"—the Key to our survival. So I need you and Goofy to find him, and stick with him. Got it?_

_We need that key or we're doomed! So go to Traverse Town and find Leon. He'll point you in the right direction._

_P.S. Would ya apologize to Minnie for me? Thanks, pal._

_Signed - Mickey_

Suddenly, something in Mickey's pocket glowed, repelling the fiends attacking him. He reached into it and took it out, seeing that it was his Star Seeker keychain. He felt power course through his body, his strength come back to him, as well as more memories of his time with Donald before they became what they are now.

_Oh, right._, he thought. _I discovered a spell that grants the power of Dimension Links. Back at Jerry's orphanage, I also shared it with Sora, Kairi, Riku, Rael, and Wizard. Let's see what the power of D-Link can do._

Raising his Keyblade, Mickey cast a spell. A big fireball came out of his Keyblade and hit the first fiend. Upon impact, the fireball exploded and caused three smaller orbs of flame to wheel around the spot where the first fiend was incinerated, hitting more enemies. The monarch was surprised, never having been able to cast Fission Firaga before. In fact, he never learned any elemental spells Donald uses.

With a grin, he cast another spell. It was a Thundaga, which eliminated more fiends and Heartless, and relieved Arc and the rest from them. As they resumed their attack thanks to the King's newfound power, Drago was able to shake off the fiends and shot out a stream of fire from his mouth, incinerating them and the Heartless. However, there were still a few left. Mickey resolved that with another spell (if it could be even called that). All of a sudden, fireworks appeared all around the monarch and were launched at the fiends and Heartless destroying them.

"Good!", Arc said as he positioned himself on Drago's head. "The next target is that monster!"

"Understood!" Drago then unleashed his fire breath at Diabolos, setting it on fire. Yucie and the others watched from below as it happened.

"Did Drago defeat it?", Yucie asked.

"Wait a moment!", said Cocoloo. "Look at that!" She pointed at Diabolos, whose roots were pulsating.

In seconds, Diabolos stopped burning and had regenerated itself…draining the land in the process. The drained area expanded all the way to their position.

"No way…", Yucie gasped. "What just happened?"

"Diabolos is using the life force of the Fairy World to regenerate itself!", Beth answered.

"So if Diabolos is injured, the more the Fairy World gets damaged too?", Joe concluded.

At that moment, said evil entity unleashed his energy breath at Drago, striking him down as he fell to the ground. Drago's passengers fell off as well.

"Too strong…", Mickey muttered as he righted himself, his D-Link over. "How can we defeat Diabolos?"

All of a sudden, he saw a bright light in the distance, where Yucie and the others happened to be, and a beam of light shot out from there and pierced Diabolos at one of the wings. For some reason, it didn't regenerate and was 'cauterized' by light.

"What was that light?", Django asked. "It surely isn't like ours at all!" The Light attacks Mickey and Django had pulled off against Diabolos hadn't done much damage at all against him.

"Is that the power of a Platinum Princess candidate?", Drago wondered. He then turned to where the light came from. "Yucie! Listen well. The five of you wield a special power in your hearts. With it, you may be able to break Diabolos's darkness. The five of you must combine the power of your hearts!"

"Five?", Joe wondered. "Oh, the five candidates."

Drago then turned to Arc and told him to protect the children (the candidates). He then turned to Mickey and the others, "I'll take it from here."

As Arc took up his sword and ran to where Yucie was, and as Drago got up and prepared to rush Diabolos once more, Mickey and the others decided to go with Arc. Just then, the ground underneath Diabolos seemed to buckle underneath him, making him fall over.

"What was that just now?", Yucie asked.

"I guess it did hurt him a bit after all.", a voice said.

They all turned to the ground, where a certain spiked club dug out of the ground. From the hole emerged Glenda and the others.

"Hey there, guys!", the Demon World princess greeted. "Did you wait long?"

"The leading actresses always arrive late at the scene.", Elmina said.

"Thank goodness we're out!", complained Babolino. "Faeries shouldn't be under the ground. I'll have to fix up my wings before I can fly again!"

"You made it!", Yucie cried out. Just then, a group of moles came out of the ground close by, infatuated with the Demon World Princess.

"We met these fellows underground.", Crystal explained as they stared at Glenda. "Together, they made a complete mess of Diabolos's roots!"

"It seems you don't always mess up.", Elmina remarked at the Demon World princess.

"That sort of thing pisses me off, coming from you…", Glenda retorted.

Yucie giggled, then said, "Great! Now we're all gathered, let's do it, everyone!"

Just then, a mass of roots emerged from behind Yucie. One of them went down to strike her, too fast for her to get away or for anybody to help her. Just then, Arc jumped in and rescued her, slicing the root in the process. The other roots attacked, but were sliced by a Strike Raid from Mickey. As Arc landed on the ground, Yucie saw that he was wounded on the right shoulder. He clutched the spot in pain and winced.

"A-Are you okay?", Yucie asked.

"It's nothing…", Arc assured her. "Just a little scratch. But more importantly, don't you have something you must do?" Yucie nodded firmly, then noticed a swarm of fiends head for the two. Arc turned around to face them. "Go! I'll handle this!"

Just before they could reach them, three sprites went in the way and shone brilliantly. "We'll block their attack!", they said.

The fiends drew back and when the light faded, they fell to the ground, paralyzed. The rest of the forest critters then came and were pounding them to oblivion. Heartless came shortly after, but Foltaggio used his Shadow Bind to pin them in place as Mickey and company destroyed them.

"Sorry, Beth.", one of the sprites said. "We were wrong! But now… None of us will run!"

Beth was stunned by this turnabout of events. Suddenly, her Platinum Princess pendant glowed. Meanwhile, Diabolos managed to push Drago off and was about to flee when a throng of vines shot out from the tree and pulled him back.

"Could it be?", wondered Cocoloo as she narrowly dodged an Emerald Blues.

Beth turned and cried out, "Father!"

The tree was glowing with power as its vines restrained Diabolos. However, it seemed to be failing.

"Stop this, Fairy King!", Drago implored. "If you strain yourself any further, you body won't be able to handle it!"

"Father, stop it!", Beth pleaded as the tree started to move, being dragged along the ground by Diabolos. "I said stop it!" The tree refused to yield as branches of it started to fall. "I'm begging you…please…stop it!" The tree simply seemed to exert more power as its aura glowed brighter. Beth could only look in sorrow as she fell to her knees and started to cry. "If you go on any longer, you won't ever be able to return to your true form!"

"Beth!", Yucie called. Just then, her pendant glowed, and so did the rest of the Platinum Princess candidates. Yucie placed her hand around her pendant, then nodded. Beth turned around and made a little smile. The five of them then stood together and held forth their pendants.

"The power of our hearts!", Yucie said as their pendants glowed white. "Please!" A ball of light formed close to the pendants, then became a surging beam of light, headed straight for Diabolos. Drago evaded the beam as it consumed the evil monstrosity. The tree held it in place to make sure it wouldn't escape.

"Go!", the five cried out at once as the beam left them and when the beam's end hit Diabolos, there was a brilliant radiant explosion. When the light faded, Diabolos was vanquished.

"Wow!", was all Mickey could say. "Such power from the Heart."

Slowly, but surely, the dark clouds started to clear, light began to shine in. And already, plants were beginning to grow back.

"We did it…", Beth managed to say. "Diabolos is no more."

All of a sudden, something in Yucie glowed and everyone gasped in surprise.

"What's happening?", Yucie asked.

"It certainly isn't from the pendant.", Elmina said.

Suddenly, Mickey's Kingdom Key D appeared in his right hand. He then took out the Crystal Ring from his pocket. Then, everything except for him and Yucie vanished into blackness.

Afterward, the ground exploded in a throng of white birds, revealing the mural. Its 'main character' was Yucie. The 'outer ring' had Crystal Flowers, and the 'miscellaneous circles' had the other four candidates, their (and her) stewards, Drago, a bearded man with closed eyes and a gentle look (Gunbard), a redhead regal woman (Queen Ercell), and a few other people. Arc's had a heart around him.

Mickey then jumped into the air, slowly turned to the mural, and tossed the Crystal Ring to Yucie. Once the ring 'passed' the candidate, a Heart appeared appeared under Yucie, and a Keyhole appeared on the spot in front of her. Mickey then aimed the Keyblade at the Keyhole and fired a beam into it. When the beam hit the Keyhole, the Heart shone brightly, engulfing him, Yucie, and the whole mural. When the light faded, they were back with everybody else.

"What happened?", asked Cocoloo.

"She has received…something.", Django explained.

"What is it?", Beth asked.

"We can't tell you, or else she wouldn't be able to acquire it."

"Oh, okay.", said Yucie.

"Well, we better get going now.", Mickey said as he and his group started to leave.

"Can't you stay at least for a day?"

"Let's not refuse their offer, Mickey.", Django told him. "We're out of food supplies anyway and we'll need to restock."

"Oh, all right." The monarch turned to Yucie. "Okay, sure."

"It's settled then!"

"May I visit Father first?", Beth asked.

"Okay."

"Looks like we'll be staying awhile.", Crystal said.

"Yeah.", sighed Joe.

-A/N: While I haven't mentioned Jiminy throughout this chapter, he'd still be chronicling, so…-

-Jiminy's Journal-

**Yucie**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

The Platinum Princess candidate from the Human World. She is very cheerful and sociable. She wishes to become Platinum Princess so she could grow up as she feels her small size is a hindrance.

**Cocoloo**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

The Platinum Princess candidate from the Spirit World. She is a soft-spoken, and gentle friend of Yucie who doesn't draw much attention to herself. She is amazingly kind and encouraging towards her friends, which makes an impression on everyone who gets to know her.

**Glenda**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

The Platinum Princess candidate from the Demon World. She is a braggart and very competitive, although she does have a sweet side she is not about to admit. She wishes to become Platinum Princess so she could rule the Demon World and protect its inhabitants.

**Elmina**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

The Platinum Princess candidate from the Sky World. She is very studious, fastidious, and mostly humorless. She once kept being hard on herself whenever she screws up as her father doesn't tolerate imperfection, but thanks to her friends, she has learnt that "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."

**Beth**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

The Platinum Princess candidate from the Fairy World. She is very athletic, strong, and has powerul magic. Before, she was extremely hostile to the other candidates and treated them not as rivals like Glenda does, but as enemies! Over time, she has opened up to them, mostly thanks to Cocoloo.

**Fairy King**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

Beth's father, who had turned into a tree to seal Diabolos. However, his power had weakened due to Diabolos finding his power source. Thanks to Mickey, Yucie, and their friends, he has been saved.

**Diabolos**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

An evil entity who drains life off a world and spreads to other worlds like a disease by any means possible. He was once sealed by the Fairy King, but he managed to get out. Thanks to Yucie and the rest of the Platinum Princess candidates, he has been defeated for good.

**Arc**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

A mysterious young man. (5) He seems to have a soft spot for Yucie, even though he always teases her for her large forehead.

**Drago**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

A dragon who lives in a lake in the Human World of the Five Realms. He is a good friend and sometimes offers good advice.

**Cube **(6)

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

Steward of Yucie's father Gunbard, and by extension, Yucie herself. He is a good friend of Yucie and can bring up nearly any item required for the situation via sorcery.

**Gaga**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

Glenda's loyal steward. While very old and has occasional pains in the hip, he takes great pride in his profession and refuses to give up on any orders from his mistress.

**Chawoo**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

Cocoloo's steward. He is very devoted to her and will always defend her, even to the extent of lying and exaggeration.

**Balizan**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

A robot built by the inhabitants of the Sky World to serve as Elmina's steward. He is loyal to his mistress and is among the first to appreciate her then imperfect efforts.

**Belbel**

_Petite Princess Yucie (2002)_

Beth's little sprite steward. While obedient to her mistress, she also tries to talk her into giving the other Platinum Princess candidates a chance, which apparently has worked in the end.

(1) From the title, I think you can guess what these worlds are. Also a little spoiler to those who haven't watched the last two episodes. The Magic World.

(2) I'll call the little 'fairies' sprites and the human-sized ones fairies.

(3) In _Kingdom Hearts Remake 1: Retcon Version_, in the Deep Jungle chapter, it is explained that their clothes have a special power that disguise their true forms to 'world natives'. As Yucie and the others (sans Beth) aren't from the Fairy World, well…

(4) Dattebayo! Believe it!

(5) While in the animé, we (at least whose who watched it) also know that he is Prince Arrow; Yucie doesn't know that, and neither do the other candidates.

(6) While they don't interact much with Mickey's group, I thought I'd put them in.

**D-Link used: Donald Duck**

**D-Link forged: Yucie**

-Okay. I got the idea of D-Link started. More will come eventually, especially those of characters who will not be appearing in the story, like the rest of Team Meridell. Unfortunately, I won't be doing VA credits this time. See ya on Third!-


	6. Chapter 5: TCO: Friendship 'Researcher'

?: Hold on a second, this is 'taking place' a year before you discovered the show and months before it even aired. What gives?

nightelf37: Welcome to the herd, Valtonous.

Valtonous Rea is a (male) Uni who is a member of Team Faerieland.

nightelf37: Ever since joining, I was hoping for something like this.

Valtonous: First, singing idols. Now ponies?

nightelf37: Hey! There are plenty of guys like me who are fans of this series as well, so shut it!

Valtonous: Fine.

nightelf37: Remember, only the OCs belong to me. I'm also integrating _Friendship is Magic_ by sailorvulpix from deviantART—which I assume takes place before the Season 2 two-parter "The Return of Harmony" (when Discord attacks)—so read that too to understand part of this. And while Princess Luna's mane there is that of her appearance in the episode "Luna Eclipsed", that's just a minor issue. Believe me when I say it's a good fic. Definitely better than this one. Also, this time, I'm not basing the events on any of the show's episodes, so I own the plot this time.

Valtonous snickers.

nightelf37: Not "horse ass" you pervert! Get your mind off the gutter! Also, this takes place after "Luna Eclipsed". Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, as well as callbacks to previous episodes. If you watched the series, you'd know where.

Random Fact: I discovered the website ScrewAttack while visiting the Final Fantasy Wiki while I was looking on the portion concerning Aerith's death in _Final Fantasy VII_.

Chapter 5: TCO: Friendship 'Researcher'

Part I. Two 'Meetings' and a Sighting

In a dream…

Kairi stood in the darkness as doves exploded around her feet. She was on a mural; her own. The 'outer ring' depicted paopus, and the miscellaneous pictures depicted Naminé, Riku, Ilsa, Fiorina, me, and Sora, the last of which had a heart around him.

"Hello there." Kairi turned around and saw a familiar face. It was—

"Fiorina?", she asked. "What are you doing here?"

"To be honest, I don't have the slightest idea. I remember dropping off to sleep after using a Crystal Ring on Team Maraqua member Dorina and—" The Eyrie stopped short. "Oh, I guess I—"

"Don't worry. I know about the Crystal Rings too.", said Kairi. "In fact, I already used one."

"Oh. I see. You already been briefed in by Wizard, huh?"

"Am I interrupting anything?", another voice came.

Both of turned around to see a white-robed figure. Fiorina identified the figure as an Orange Shoyru. Her hair was long, wavy, and yellow. She was also anthropomorphic like herself.

"Let me guess…", said Kairi. "You're Hayden, right?"

The figure raised an eyebrow. "How'd you know?"

"Sora told me that Joel visited his dream and mentioned you and David."

"Yes, that'd be him."

"You're going to fight me aren't you?"

Hayden nodded. "Yes."

"Mind if I join in?", Fiorina asked as she summoned her RefLuxGun and shield. Hayden nodded again.

"Can I ask you a question?", Kairi asked Hayden, who nodded a third time. "Do you know something about my parents?"

"Ain't that a shot in the dark?", Fiorina remarked.

"What makes you think I know anything about your past?", the Shoyru asked Kairi. "Sorry, but I know nothing of your childhood life."

"Oh, sorry.", Kairi apologized.

"It's okay. Well, let's get started."

As Kairi summoned her Destiny's Embrace, Hayden summoned her Fusil of Shadows from her right hand. It was colored white, like my DirLuxGun, but it seemed…different. "This is the WhiteShade." She pointed her Fusil at the ground and fired. The mural then swiftly changed. They now stood on what seemed to be Naminé's mural. Surrounding her was a ring of circles with crayon scribbles depicted. In miscellaneous places around the mural were a number of circles that were about the same size. They showed Kairi, Ansem the Wise as DiZ, and Roxas, the latter of which had a heart around him.

Kairi began with a Fira spell and Fiorina did a couple of shots, but Hayden conjured a shield of shimmering air blocked the attack (Shoyru Air Block + Light element). Both Eyrie and female Keyblade wielder charged at the Shoyru, who manifested a 'saber' from her Fusil. Fiorina did likewise as she and Kairi brought down their weapons on Hayden, who parried the blow with her own. She then performed a crescent kick to knock them away (Shoyru Kick).

She then raised her fusil halfway and a storm of white(r-than-usual) clouds appeared around her. As she levitated into the air, she cried out, "Ultima Light!"

Light began to fill the whole field, and when it faded after a few seconds, Fiorina was on one knee in a defensive stance, Kairi behind her, and a shield of air around them (Eyrie Air Shield).

"We're not going down that easily.", said Fiorina.

"Looks like I can't test Kairi with you around.", replied Hayden as she landed back on the mural. "May you step aside for the remainder of the battle? Kairi needs to get stronger and she can't do that with friends keeping her away."

"Are you saying that—"

"I'm not saying friends are bad, but in the event that she gets separated for whatever reason, she'll need to be able to stand up for herself."

Fiorina stood up. "I think I see what you mean. I'm not completely sure whether the simulations we put her through has enhanced her skills enough, though."

"Well, would you mind if I evaluate her?"

"Sure." The Eyrie turned to Kairi. "You up for it, Kairi?"

"Okay."

With that, Fiorina stepped aside as Kairi got ready to face Hayden one-on-one.

KHKHKHKHKH

Elsewhere…

Seven figures stood around idly in an unknown area.

"When are they going to come back?", asked Xozict as he licked ice cream off a cone.

"I hate ice cream.", said one of the members in the white version of the Black Coat, which had been associated with Organization XIII. Many of them, including the currrent speaker, had their hoods up. "Quit it."

"No.", protested Xozict.

"If you don't stop it, I'll cut it out. And I'm not alone in this." he tapped the boot of a fellow Nobody sleeping on a couch. "Wake Up!", he yelled.

"I'm up!", yelled the snoozer, jolting up. This member was female.

"You have the most pointless arguments.", said a third unknown member in a gruff voice.

"I would have to agree.", said the fourth. Another female, she stood in the shadows, her hazel eyes piercing through the nonexistent souls of Xozict, the one who argued with him, and the slacker. "You three never have a single important issue to talk about. That goes for you too." She turned to a short member who wore a mask not unlike one certain mentor of a certain pink ball. (1)

"Hey! What did I do?", he retorted.

"You are just as immature as those three."

"Am not!"

"You're just like them."

"He isn't like us.", said the slacker. "For one thing, we're smarter than him."

"Hey!", said the short one as he walked over to her. "At least I do something! You just slack off!" He then hit the slacker on the head.

"All right! That's it!", the slacker jumped out of her seat and attacked the masked one.

"Can't you ju—" The short one dodged a sai to the head. Without a word, he took out a wind-blade shuriken and entered a battle stance. Xozict and the one in the shadows was about to join in when—

"Break it up! Now!", a voice came.

They turned to see Shazed. He looked royally pissed off.

"But I'm bored." protested the short one..

"Yeah, we have nothing to do until those guys get back from 'negotiations'.", added the slacker.

"I just want to teach them not to fight inside.", said the one who protested to Xozict.

"By fighting as well?", asked the one in the shadows, who never left.

"Well…"

"You can't teach a lesson if you yourself haven't learned it.", said the one in the gruff voice.

"I don't care if you guys are bored.", said Shazed sternly. "Our leader's orders are clear. We do nothing until they get back. And you," He pointed to the slacker. "Show some dignity." Everyone stood up. After some moments of silence, and quiet cursing from the others, a Dark Corridor appeared and four figures emerged from it. One was a woman with flowing red hair and grey eyes. One had purple hair styled in a "jewfro", robotic plating in places on his face, and black eyes. One was red-eyed, had cyan skin, and was slightly larger than the rest. One was grey-skinned with silver hair, a part of which covered his eyes. And also seemed to conceal something in his coat. The fourth one then walked to Shazed.

"So?", asked Shazed. "What happened?"

"As always, negotiations are a pain.", said the redhead.

"And?"

"They were very tiring.", said the one with robotic plating.

"And?"

"We came to a conclusion." said the large one.

"On an unrelated note, it was difficult getting **them **to manifest.", said the silver-haired one. "Still don't know how our leader managed to get hold of him when he was supposed to be deep within **that guy's** heart."

"Well, he did become a Heartless, right?", said Shazed, "Who somehow managed to maintain his memory. Perhaps he retrieved him during that short moment."

"That is a plausible theory, but who's willing to ask the leader?"

"I'm not interested."

"Nah.", said the slacker.

"I don't care.", said the one in the shadows.

"Do we even need to tell him?", said the short one.

"…You're right. We can keep this guess to ourselves.", said the silver-haired "Nobody tell anything to the leader unless he asks us to, is that clear?"

"Yes, No. 2.", the rest chorused.

"So…who sent our reserves of Unversed down that peaceful world with the cute horses?"

Whether it's because none of them knew or no one was willing to speak, nobody answered the question.

KHKHKHKHKH

Back in the dream…

Kairi was soundly defeated by Hayden, who seemed a bit wiped as well, which Fiorina noticed.

"Wow.", said Hayden. "I'm impressed. But you still have a long way to go. That will be all for now."

And with that, the dream ended.

KHKHKHKHKH

In space…or the Lanes Between…1100 hours, Shipboard Time…

Aquanax, Euryflavia, and Tychophon were playing again at the "Command Board". I had decided to come over and see their game. The "Command Board" looked like a very futuristic piece of work. My three pets were at three places around it, cards of some kind in front of them on a built-in rack. Aquanax shook a die in her paw and rolled it into the 'field'. This 'field' consisted of cubes of different colors serving as squares as well as a backdrop of some kind below it. For some reason, the pieces resembled some familiar characters. The 'pieces' were Chicken Little, Wizard, and Sora. And Aquanax was sliding the Sora piece across the board. Upon landing, there were a few beepings, then I noticed a slots wheel depicting numbers changing value after the Acara pressed a button.

"Wait a second.", I said after I fed Gallico. My three Neopets paused as I came over. "Just where did this game come from? Why does it have Sora and Wizard as game pieces?"

"The Command Board came with a customizer for game pieces.", Aquanax explained. "It read what we wanted our pieces to be and…well…here they are. For some reason, the pieces depicting Sora, Kairi, Wizard, you, Riku, Sabata, Django, and King Mickey have a faint aura about them. The other pieces…"

"The rest of Team Meridell, Donald and Goofy, Lea, Flik, Hopper, Chcken Little…", Tychophon stated.

"They just seem to be ordinary ones.", finished Euryflavia. "And we just got the Chicken Little piece after your visit to Oakey Oaks. Strange, huh?"

"You're right. Strange indeed.", I said.

"As for where this came from, none of us know."

"Oh wait. You still haven't answered my first questi—"

"What in Fyora's name…?", we heard Messerole speak through the ship's PA system. "Guys! You should see this!"

"Let's pause our game, shall we?", proposed the Usul.

"Seconded.", agreed Tychophon as he pushed a button on the board. Suddenly, everything retracted and disappeared until all that was left was a large flat box with the words "Command Board" and three little long buttons labeled "New Game", "Continue", and "How to Play".

"Let's go."

KHKHKHKHKH

Around the time my Neopets and I made it to the cockpit, Sora, Kairi, Wizard, Lea, and Jerry were already there, looking out into the cosmos.

"There it is.", said Messerole.

Ahead, we could see a horse in a magic bubble of some kind. Not just any horse, but a winged one. It reminded Sora, Kairi, and me of Pegasus back at Olympus Coliseum. However, something seemed different. The legs of this equine did not end in hooves, but 'flat' where said hooves would be. We also saw a very long spiral horn on its head, making it what Lea called an alicorn, which is a cross between a unicorn and pegasus. Its eyes were sky blue and unusually large for a regular equine. Its mane and tail were cherry red like Kairi's hair, although I can't help but feel the mane was flowing like human hair. Also, what was very peculiar about this alicorn was that there was a marking of some kind on its…flank, as Lea called it. The marking depicted an inkwell and tan-colored quill. (2) We stared in a puzzled manner. What was an alicorn doing out here in space—I mean, The Lanes Between, where she (I assumed it was a she) could be at risk from the darkness?

"Beautiful.", Kairi mused.

"Yeah.", Sora agreed.

Just then, the alicorn seemed to notice us and hastened in speed, flapping her wings in spite of the lack of air to push against.

"After her!", I found myself saying.

"Roger that!", Messerole replied as our ship's speed increased. Seconds later, the alicorn began to fade away from view. At around the same time, a world entered our sights. It was bright and colorful, it had a castle on the top, a forest at the left side, a village on the right side, and a mountain on the bottom. On the screen, the World Identifier showed the world's name to be "Equestria".

_Hmm…why do I get the feeling I'm gonna love this in the future?_, I thought to myself as the alicorn disappeared from sight and radar, although we were no longer concerned about that for some reason.

Around the same time, our CRD (Crystal Ring Dispenser) began to react and dispensed one Crystal Ring.

"What are the world's sapient inhabitants?", the Grundo asked the computer system.

"The sapient inhabitants are…ponies, pegasi, unicorns, dragons, griffons, zebras, buffalos, and more.", came an alto voice. "There are more like cows, mules, and sheep, but this ship's transformation system will not be transforming you into any of them."

"I wanna go!", Tychophon said as he raised his left hand.

"But it's my turn!", Euryflavia argued and turned to face him.

"I'm not sure if rabbits or squirrels are sapient animals there. And among us Neopets, I'm the only one who would look less of an 'outcast'."

The Usul turned away in disgust. "Oh, fine. I'll let you go, but you must promise me this."

"What?"

She turned to face Tychophon again. "Next time it's your turn to go with Rael on a world, I'm taking your turn."

"Deal!" The two then spit into their hands and clasped them together, slightly grossing out Kairi.

Part II. Introductions and a Party

Equestria…

Seven beams of light landed in a path leading to a forest. It was daytime, so nopony noticed. (3) Once the light around us that came along with the teleportation faded, we took a look at our surroundings, then our forms.

"Okay. Nothing looks strange so far.", said Jerry.

"Except us that is.", Lea replied. "As expected, we've changed."

We were all transformed, with the exception of Tychophon. Save for him and me, everyone was a pony of the same body shape and size.

Sora's form had a black coat. His mane was brown and retained the shape of his spiky hair, although it was longer of course. His tail was also brown like his mane and was slightly ruffled. On his flank was a marking depicting his crown necklace, which he also wore.

Kairi's form had a pink coat and a unicorn horn, although it was much shorter and more rounded than that of the alicorn we saw earlier. Her mane was cherry red like her own hair and she seemed to wear the belt that was on her dress, which had its notebook-shaped bag attachment. Her tail was straight and seemed to be properly brushed. On her flank was a marking depicting the Wayfinder she made and gave to Sora.

Lea's form had a unicorn horn like Kairi and a fiery red coat. His mane and tail were also as red as his coat and was spiky like his own hair. His flank had a marking depicting one of his chakrams.

Jerry's form had a purple coat and small pegasus wings. His black mane was very short and so was his tail. Wrapped around his body was a belt that seemed to hold his 'training sabers' when not in use. The marking on his flank was a white circle and two mountain range-like shapes near its sides; the same symbol on his shirt.

Wizard's form had a coat as white as his Techo skin. This puzzled me as he wasn't originally a human being like the rest of us. His mane and tail were as long as a Uni's (4) and was colored cyan. The marking on his flank depicted a shield with a yellow outline, a golden crown in the middle, and a four-square checker pattern behind it, violet-blue in the upper left and lower right, and a mix of red-and-maroon stripes in the upper right and lower left corners; the insignia of his homeland in Neopia, Meridell.

As for me, I was a Neopet. But instead of a Blue Kacheek like in the Pride Lands, I was a Yellow Scorchio, a dragon Neopet. I looked around myself, and saw that my bag has shrunken so that my wings could be used. Also, unlike the rest, I didn't have markings of any sort on my body. Also, I was about as tall as the others.

When I looked again at the rest, I saw that Kairi's muzzle was curved whereas those of the rest were 'lined', closely resembling actual horses. And for some reason, Tychophon was smaller than the rest of us, his head (not counting his head spike) reaching just at the legs of the others.

"Okay.", said Sora. "This is my second quadruped form I assumed."

"What was the first?", asked Jerry.

"A lion cub in the Pride Lands."

"Tych, I think you need to adjust your size.", I turned to the Shoryu, who looked at himself.

"Okay." With an incantation, Tychophon enlarged so that he was about as big as the rest of us.

Just then, we heard footfalls on leaves coming from behind us. We turned to the forest, where we saw someone headed to our position. It was a pony, just like Sora and the others. As the pony came into view, judging by the muzzle, we saw it was a mare, like Kairi. And like her, she was a unicorn, although her colors were obviously different. She had a light purple coat, a dark indigo mane and tail both with a magenta and purple streak (both properly brushed like Kairi's), dark violet eyes, and a hot pink star marking on her flank with five white twinkles around it.

The mare seemed to notice us since she quickened her pace. Eventually, she was face-to-face with us and she stopped.

"Hi there.", she greeted.

"Uh…hi.", Sora greeted in return, raising a hoof in greeting.

"Interesting…" The purple unicorn turned to look at Tychophon and me. "I haven't never seen dragons like you before." Both of us began to sweat profusely in nervousness. "I guess I'll look it up later in the library." We both sighed in relief, although I can't help but feel some outside force influenced her mind. I shook it off as me probably having a moment of craziness. As she trotted past us, we turned to see that she was headed for a village about a mile from where we stood. She then stopped and turned to us again. "If you like, you could visit Ponyville. It's just up ahead."

Before she could take another step, a strange noise suddenly resounded in the air. Unversed then appeared from out of nowhere, surprising her and us. It was the blue ones that accompanied the Dusks and Shadows back at Radiant Garden, which we learned were called Floods, but accompanying them were two more kinds. (Prior to our 'adventure', King Mickey had updated Jiminy's Journal, Data Sora's PDA, and my Yellow Travelers Chronicler with information on every Unversed Vanitas had released in his attack of the Realm of Light thirteen years ago.)

One of them was the Hareraiser, a small creature slightly resembling the Tornado Step Heartless back at Castle Oblivion. Their skin was black, they had a wide lower body with a comparatively thin neck, had two short spikes on its body for legs and lacked arms, and a large, round head with two long, floppy "ears". The tips of their outer ears were dark red, while their inner ears were pink. Their red eyes were set in a sorrowful expression and their emblem was on their chest.

The other was the Archraven, which was like…well, a raven. However, they lacked legs and instead had a wide, fleur-de-lis-shaped tail. Their bodies and wings had thin, red patterns decorating them. Their heads also sported a five-pointed crest, their red eyes were set in a happy expression, and their emblem on their chest.

"Unversed!", Sora cried out as we instinctively called out our weapons. The Ultima Weapon appeared in his teeth, just like in his lion form.

Kairi called out her Destiny's Embrace, which appeared in her tail, although it seemed harder for her to grip it than when she was a lion cub in the Pride Lands.

As Lea summoned his two chakrams, they floated on either side of him and spun. I also saw his unicorn horn glow green and his weapons had the same aura.

Wizard's GunDeLuna appeared and floated to his left side.

Jerry 'unsheathed' his sabers and 'activated' them.

In a flash of light, my DirLuxGun and shield appeared in my hands.

Tychophon reached for his quiver and pulled out an arrow and his bow.

The purple unicorn reacted in surprise at all these, particularly the guns, the bow, and Jerry's manipulating of the sabers.

The Hareraisers started by cartwheeling with their ears, but Sora quickly struck them down with his Keyblade. However, his movements were slightly awkward, since a pony's body was obviously different from a lion's.

As Kairi headed for a cluster of Floods, she decided to cast a spell. As that happened, her horn glowed blue as fireballs appeared around her and spun around, disintegrating the Unversed.

As Tychophon and I shot down the Archravens with our weapons, Wizard was following suit, but also evading Hareraisers the best he could by jumping and making feeble kicks.

Lea seemed to be having fun in his abilities, moving his chakrams around and cutting down every Unversed in sight. Just then, one of the Hareraisers managed to get behind him and strike his flank with its ears. He lost concentration and he 'dropped' his chakrams. He decided to raise his hind legs and kick the little Unversed, destroying it before 'resuming control' over his weapons.

While Jerry seemed to be having it easy with manipulating his sabers, he soon realized that using the Force on the Unversed themselves was more efficient for his current form. As he 'returned' one saber and moved the other to his teeth like Sora, he saw an Archraven swoop down on him. He 'caught' the avian Unversed, then took it down with his saber. A few Hareraisers surrounded him and started to spin, shooting lasers from their eyes. Jerry dodged by jumping, then realized he had wings, meaning he could fly. He then left the bunny Unversed below and started to take on the Archravens.

Right after blocking a group of cartwheeling Hareraisers and tackling them back with my shield, I saw a mass of Floods head for the purple unicorn, whose horn was glowing magenta. As they jumped at her, she conjured a Reflect-like barrier, sending the Floods back. As I then turned my attention to them and shot them down, a pair of Archravens then swooped down to attack her. A second before they hit however, her horn glowed again and she disappeared in a flash of light, the Unversed crashing into one another. She then appeared in another flash of light…right next to me.

"Whoa.", I gasped, though not that loud. She then conjured a fireball and shot it at an oncoming Archraven, destroying it. Before we realized it, all the Unversed were gone. As we gathered together, we saw the purple unicorn stare at us.

"What were those things?", she asked.

"Unversed.", I found myself saying as my weapons disappeared. "Physical manifestations of negative emotions. I don't know how that's possible either. They're a violation of nature." I didn't tell her the whole truth as it would be confusing and because she doesn't need to know that.

The purple unicorn then turned to Jerry and Wizard. "How were you two able to use telekinesis? Only unicorns can do that."

"It's my weapon that's magical, not me.", Wizard hastily explained as his GunDeLuna disappeared back into its hiding place.

"I'm-from-a-secret-cult-of-gifted-non-unicorns-that-harness-their-powers-to-help-others-in-secret.", Jerry quickly said as his eyes shifted left and right and his sabers 'returned' to his belt. "And-I'm-still-a-rookie-in-the-keeping-secret-part!"

The purple unicorn raised an eyebrow, then turned to Sora and Kairi, who still wielded their Keyblades. "Is that a Keyblade you're wielding?"

"How did you—", Sora was about to say, dropping his.

I quickly cut in, "It's a sword that looks like a key. Wouldn't take a no-brainer to figure that out and make a name like that."

"Except our Keyblades don't exactly look like keys for the moment.", Kairi whispered to me as she and Sora dismissed their weapons.

"…You got a point.", I whispered back.

The purple unicorn looked skeptical, then all of a sudden, Sora's stomach grumbled. "You guys look hungry.", she said the. As if to reinforce her words, the stomachs of the rest also grumbled.

_Didn't we eat breakfast before landing?_, I thought.

"What about I take you guys someplace to eat?"

"Uhh…sure.", agreed Sora. "Oh, almost forgot to introduce ourselves. I'm Sora."

"And I'm Jerry."

"Name's Kairi."

"Call me Wizard."

"I'm Rael."

"Tychophon."

"The name's Lea. Got it memorized? What's yours?"

The purple unicorn made a short giggle, then said, "Twilight Sparkle."

KHKHKHKHKH

Somewhere in Ponyville…

Somepony was looking through a pair of binoculars. She watched Twilight Sparkle lead Sora and his friends down the road. Some of them seemed to be walking as if they hadn't done so in a long time.

"Looks like we got some new arrivals.", she said. "I better call everypony else." With that, she zoomed off in a streak.

(Wizard had walked on fours at times, being a gecko-like Neopet. Lea had been to many worlds back when he was Axel, and due to the nature of his missions, getting used to quadruped forms was an eventuality. As for Jerry, he was quick to adapt, quicker than Sora or Kairi when they had first assumed lion forms in the Pride Lands.)

KHKHKHKHKH

A long while later…

Twilight was escorting us through town, which seemed to be populated by little ponies just like her, Sora, and the others. Many of these ponies had markings on their flanks, except for the very young ones. As we walked, some of the ponies turned to glance at us quizzically, then returned to what they were doing.

Seeing me and Tychophon looking slightly nervous, Twilight reminded, "While we've seen dragons before, nopony's ever seen any of your kind or stature."

"Nopony?", Sora asked. "Don't you mean—" I cut him cut off with a nudge.

"We're not from around here.", I said discreetly. "Judging by the ponies, sayings here are probably horse-based in a human perspective."

"What dragons have you seen?", Tychophon asked Twilight.

"Very large dragons that tower these buildings, and one who can comfortably ride on my back."

Just then, there was a pink streak that bypassed us, blowing Twilight, Kairi, and Wizard's manes into a mess, although the latter's was already messy enough. For some reason, the manes of Sora and Lea retained their shape.

"Who was that?", Sora asked.

"Uhh, never mind that.", Twilight answered as her horn glowed. In a flash, her mane returned to normal. She then proceeded to cast the same spell on Kairi. I thought our new acquaintance was keeping some kind of secret, but without anything to prove it, I decided not to bring up the subject.

She took us to numerous buildings (many of them had distinct thatched roofs and overhanging upper floors), including a dress shop (called the Carousel Botique), a costume shop, a bookstore, a library (called Books and Branches Library), a joke shop, a quill and sofa store, a day spa, a hardware store (but there doesn't seem to be much technology around here), a café, and a bowling alley. We could also see a house made of clouds in the distance, which looked like a small Greek palace, with rainbow-colored waterfalls on either side. Food carts operated on the streets, but they accepted only "bits" (small, round, gold coins with an embossed rim), and we only had munny (yellow orbs of differing sizes).

Every few minutes, we saw the same pink streak pass through the streets around town, but Twilight never told us what it was. Apparently, that streak was a regular—or semi-regular or something—happening in Ponyville as nopony seemed to mind it. Or perhaps the populace is used to the antics of whoever made that streak.

Eventually, Twilight took us to a building whose roof resembled a heavily decorated gingerbread house with two cupcakes stacked on top. It was a bakery known as Sugarcube Corner. We had passed the building a few times, and the pink streak seemed to have something to do with the shop as far as I could tell. The moment we stepped in, it was dark because the lights were off.

"Who turned out the lights?", Sora wondered.

"I think I know what's coming up next.", mused Wizard.

"SURPRISE!", several voices cried simultaneously as the lights were turned on. Sora, Kairi, and Tychophon were genuinely surprised, while Jerry, Lea, and I just jumped. Wizard just rolled his eyes, already expecting this. Surrounding us were lots of ponies, a majority of them mares, with the occasional stallion here and there.

"Sorry if I forgot to mention this, but I have a friend who is well known for throwing the best parties in town.", Twilight explained as she walked past us. "And somehow, she always, always, **always** knows when there's somepony new in town, and likes to throw welcome parties in celebration."

"Was that friend that pink streak that bypassed us all over town earlier?", I decided to ask her.

"Yup!", a very cheery voice came.

We turned to see a pink pony jumping up and down. Her coat was cotton candy pink, her hot pink mane wild and curly, her eyes cyan, and the marking on her flank a trio of party balloons.

"Hi! You must be new in town.", she was saying in a quick pace. "I know you are because I've never met you before, and if I never met you before then that means you're new in town, 'cause I know everypony. And by everypony, I mean everypony. So anyways, my name is Pinkamena Diane Pie, but you can call me Pinkie Pie. And oh my gosh, you cannot **believe** how excited I am to see some new ponies in town..."

We managed to ignore her as we looked at the other six to her left standing in a line. There were five other ponies and one dragon.

The one directly next to Pinkie Pie was a pegasus with a sky blue coat, magenta eyes, a mane and tail with the colors of the rainbow (colors 'horizontally lined', warm ones closer to the head, and the cool ones 'outward' in the tail), and a marking on her flank depicting a lightning bolt-shaped rainbow (well, red-yellow-blue anyway) emerging from a single cloud.

Next to her was a honey-orange pony who had her blonde mane and tail tied into a (pardon the pun) ponytail at the end with two red bands, white freckles on her face, a brown stetson (cowboy) hat atop her head, and a marking on her flank depicting a trio of apples.

Next was a young dragon, height between two-thirds and three-fourths of an average pony, with light purple scales, emerald green eyes, a green spine, and a creamy yellow underbelly. I figured this was one of the other kind of dragon the ponies have seen.

Next was a deep blue unicorn with brown eyes (irises seemingly smaller than those of the rest), a yellow-and-orange mane and tail, black markings on the hooves (_Now that's odd._, I thought), and a marking on the flank depicting an orange circle and an open book inside it. (5) I also noticed that despite the fact that this pony's muzzle was curved like most of the ponies here, there were no visible eyelashes and I immediately assumed the pony to be male.

Next was a snow white unicorn with a violet mane and tail curled in a fashionable manner, sapphire blue eyes, long(er) eyelashes, and a marking on her flank depicting three blue diamonds.

At the end of the 'line' was a cream yellow pegasus with a long pink mane and tail, the former of which partially hid her face, sea blue eyes, and a marking on her flank depicting three pink butterflies. My attention locked instantly at this pony for some reason.

"And then, I was like 'Oatmeal? Are you crazy?' And then—", Pinkie continued before getting her mouth blocked by the pegasus next to her.

Twilight seemed to notice us look at them and cleared her throat to get our attention. She then walked up to the line so that she was now in between the white unicorn and yellow pegasus.

"Oh, let me introduce you to my friends.", she said as she indicated them all, starting with Pinkie Pie. "As you probably just heard, this is Pinkie Pie. She threw this party for you guys." She then indicated the blue pegasus. "This is Rainbow Dash."

"Hey there!", greeted the pegasus as she raised the hoof she used to shush Pinkie.

Twilight indicated the one with the hat. "This is Applejack."

"Howdy, y'all!" We noticed that she had an accent I thought was appropriate for country folk.

The dragon. "This is Spike."

"Hi." Spike waved in a friendly manner.

The blue unicorn. "This is Chronicle."

"Hello there." Sora's irises shrunk in surprise. While the voice was high, it was unmistakably male.

"You're a…guy?", Sora gasped.

Chronicle sighed and rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I get that all the time at first."

"I knew he was a dude from the beginning.", I muttered.

"A-anyway…" Twilight continued as she then indicated the white unicorn, "This is Rarity."

"It's a pleasure to see new faces in Ponyville." Chronicle glanced at Rarity, then rolled his eyes. I got the feeling that their intros were scripted or something, but I shoved that thought aside.

Twilight then indicated the yellow pegasus. "And this is Fluttershy."

"Hi.", she greeted in a soft voice.

Twilight then introduced us to them. "Guys, these are Sora, Kairi, Wizard, Lea, Jerry, Rael, and Tychophon."

"Now that the introductions are over with, let's **par-tay**!", said Pinkie Pie.

KHKHKHKHKH

Sometime later…

The music played in the party was part classical and part techno (in a slow beat) seemingly mixed quite well for reasons I couldn't understand.

I was at the buffet table, checking out the food. Sora was there too, gorging himself in cake, although he had trouble holding stuff with his mouth. The only thing he held in such a manner while as a quadruped was the Keyblade since the Pride Lands barely had any human stuff to work with. Kairi was helping him out by using telekinesis from her horn, having been taught how by Twilight. As I checked each of the foodstuffs, Applejack came over.

"Now what might be the problem, haystack?", she asked me.

"I don't have a problem, Applejack.", I said as I took a plate, a fork, and a slice of cake with it. "Really, I don't."

"I thought dragons eat just about anything."

"Not my species.", I replied I cut a slice of cake and ate it, savoring the taste of strawberry and chocolate. If I recalled correctly, Skeiths were the only dragon Neopets (the rest being Shoyrus, Scorchios, and Draiks) that can eat anything. "And I'm pickier than most, unfortunately." I then turned my attention away from her as I saw Spike holding a bowlful of what seemed to be…gemstones? He was approaching Tychophon, who was eating a slice of apple pie.

"Hey there, Tych.", he greeted. "Can I call you Tych?"

"…Fine.", the Shoyru relented.

Spike offered a gem. "Here. Try one."

"Thanks." Tychophon absentmindedly took the gem, then bit on it. However, upon sinking his teeth into it, he realized what it was and took it out. It was an actual, bonafide, valuable gemstone. "Hey! This is a gem!"

"Yeah. Dragons eat gems, right?"

"Not my kind." Tychophon pocketed it into his…pocket of hyperspace, which briefly appeared inches from his wings where Spike can't see it. "I can't believe you eat such luxuries."

"Luxuries? They're found in the ground and mountains by the handful. They're so common that ponies use them for dress decorations, and there's enough left for me to snack on. Not that gems are the only things I can eat."

"Really…"

"Another question…can you breathe fire, Tych?"

Tychophon raised an eyebrow. "Now what kind of question is that?"

Spike shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, nothing."

"I see. And for the record, I can't."

Spike put his hands to his head in shock. "What?"

"Although I do have some fire-related abilities I can use in combat. Oh, wait. I **can** breathe fire. Just not as regularly as most dragons."

"Hey, Pinkie.", I heard Wizard speak. I turned to see him next to the punch bowl, a cup with a straw close to him, and facing Pinkie Pie. I stepped in for a closer look, although I kept my distance. Applejack followed, and I felt a tad nervous from that. "What's that green thing in the punch?" I then turned to see something green in the punch bowl.

Pinkie followed his eyesight, and then giggled. "Oh, that?", she replied. "That's just Gummy, my pet baby alligator." Wizard stared for a while at the bowl, where Gummy popped out of the punch to stare at him with its pinkish-purple eyes. After backing off for a bit should it bite him and staring for a few seconds, he returned to his cup and resumed drinking, much to the puzzlement of Pinkie, Applejack, and me. "You know, most ponies do a spit take or something whenever I say that."

"I've had filthier stuff.", he answered. "I can stomach a lot of edible things."

Meanwhile, in the middle of the room, Lea was casting fire magic and was performing quite the spectacle, making himself a sight to see. He managed to catch Fluttershy's attention and he seemed to notice it too. Slowly, he approached her, still performing his pyrotechnics. Fluttershy seemed to notice as she backed away faster than the rest of the other ponies he was approaching.

Suddenly, he was pounced by two other ponies. Applejack and I turned to see that it was Chronicle and Rainbow Dash.

"Were you trying anything on Fluttershy?", they both asked at the same time, then turned to each other in slight surprise.

"Whatever do you mean?", asked Lea, seemingly oblivious.

"You know what I mean!", retorted Rainbow Dash.

"No, I do not! I was trying something on that cute unicorn over there."

The two turned to the general location of where Fluttershy had been backing away and saw a blue unicorn mare staring at the scene the two just made. Her mane was half-white, half-dark blue, her eyes were as blue as her coat, and the marking on her flank (which Twilight called a "cutie mark") was an hourglass. (6)

"Oh. Minuette.", greeted Chronicle. "Didn't see you there."

"Hey. Is that a cello I hear?", I heard Jerry say.

Applejack and I turned to see him and Rarity right next to us. We then turned to where he was looking and indeed there was a pony playing a cello. Somehow. She was a gray "earth pony" (like Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sora, and Wizard) with black hair, a pink bowtie on a white choker, and a pink treble clef cutie mark. Accompanying her were two other ponies playing a piano and a violin.

Next to them was a turntable with a disc jockey, who was a white unicorn with a two-tone electric blue mane, purple shades, and two beamed notes as her cutie mark.

"Hey!", said Chronicle after getting off of Lea, who was still pinned by Rainbow Dash. He pointed to the disc jockey. "That's DJ-Pon3, the disc jockey at Rarity's first fashion show." He then pointed to the cellist. "And that's Octavia from the Grand Galloping Gala. As well as some other members of her band apparently. How did Pinkie Pie get them **together** to manage the music for the party?" He then let out an exasperated sigh. "She's such a random earth pony."

Part III. The "Jig" is Up

After the party, early afternoon…

Twilight Sparkle led the seven of us to the Books and Branches Library, which was also where she was living. The rest of her friends followed but Chronicle didn't as he went to the back of the place for some reason.

Inside, it was very spacious, filled with books of all kinds. Everything was perfectly organized. There was also a table for more books as well as a few other decorations. There was also a brown owl sleeping in the rafters above. Twilight explained that that was Owlowiscious, her pet and 'night shift' assistant.

As we all entered, all of Twilight's friends checked the windows, drew the curtains, then ushered the seven of us to the center.

"Okay. What's up with you girls?", Sora asked nervously.

"We know where you're really from.", said Twilight with a serious tone and face. "You're from another world, right?" We all understandably reacted in surprise.

"Oh boy.", sighed Wizard as he 'hoofed' his face. "Yes. Yes,we are. Did the Keyblade give us away?" Twilight nodded her head.

"We also know of the existence of other worlds, especially something called Kingdom Hearts.", said Spike as he got a ladder and was about to go grab a certain book.

"Now where did that come from?", I asked. "Although yes, we know it."

"I don't.", said Jerry.

Just then, there was a crash. Everyone turned their heads to the source of the sound, then Twilight and her friends turned back to us.

"What was that?", Lea asked.

"Just Chronicle venting his anger.", Twilight simply stated. We then heard him yell "And this is for—" the rest couldn't be heard from the sound of whatever was on the receiving end of his fury being attacked. "Just ignore him. He'll come around soon." She then 'took' a couple of books from various shelves around the library, including one Spike was apparently about to get.

"Oh…okay.", Kairi said, then returned to the topic as Spike climbed down the ladder and joined everyone else. There were a few other noises outside from Chronicle, but we managed to ignore them.

"How do you know of other worlds, the Keyblade, and Kingdom Hearts in the first place?", Sora wanted to know.

"Some time ago, we met with three Keyblade wielders.", explained Applejack.

"They each entered this world at different times.", added Rainbow Dash. "And they all happened to know each other."

"Who were these visitors?", Wizard wanted to know.

"I met Terra while he was a brown earth pony at the farm I live in.", said Applejack.

"I met Ven as a green pegasus flying among the clouds.", said Rainbow.

"And I met Aqua as a blue unicorn practicing elemental magic in town.", said Twilight. She then turned to me. "I learnt that fire spell from her, by the way."

"Wait a second.", interrupted Sora. "Terra, Ven, and Aqua?"

"Well, Ven's name's actually Ventus.", added Rainbow.

"Could you tell us more?"

And that's what they did. Applejack had first seen Terra headbutting a tree in her farm to try and get some apples. She had then invited him to help buck apples from the trees for Applebuck Season. Rainbow Dash had crashed into Ven while he was enjoying his wings, and he lied that he had an injury that grounded him for three months. Having believed his excuse at that time, she taught him how to fly. Aqua had seen Twilight conjure a mustache for Spike (Sora raised an eyebrow), then practiced some elemental spells, which soon caught Twilight's attention. After getting her attention, as well as a short conversation, Twilight offered to teach Aqua unicorn magic in exchange for elemental combat magic.

During one of those 'lessons', Aqua accidentally teleported herself up in the sky and began to fall. She was saved by Terra, and then Ven crashed into both of them shortly after, resulting in the three being covered in apples and applesauce Terra had been carrying. Once they were cleaned up at the spa, they were led to Sugarcube Corner, where Pinkie Pie threw a party for them, just like she did with us. While the three apparently conversed with one another concerning their time together, Twilight momentarily left, only to return with Fluttershy and Rarity.

During that party, there was an announcement that Princesses Celestia and Luna (the co-rulers of Equestria) were coming to Ponyville. Terra, Ven, and Aqua had huddled together and wondered who she was, but Pinkie overheard them and went ballistic upon hearing that they didn't know who the Princesses were. While it was possible that they wouldn't know of them even if they were natives of Equestria, the fact that the Princess Celestia only said that after that revelation got Twilight and the others suspicious.

After the Princesses left with the three to talk to them privately, Twilight and the rest of her friends decided to search the library for information.

In the present, she and the rest showed us the books they had searched. _Legends of the stars _stated that 'For every star in the sky, there is another world'. _List of Other Worlds_ showed details of every single world we've been to so far (and more), like Destiny Islands, Agrabah, Radiant Garden, and Land of Dragons. It puzzled me that this book named the worlds just like our Gummi Ships' navigational systems named them. In an unrelated note, Spike asked "Tych" if he and I were from Land of Dragons. The Shoyru stated otherwise and said he's from Neopia. Wizard then stated that while we've been in Land of Dragons, it wasn't a "land of dragons" in the literal sense (to his disappointment, only one dragon was seen as one of its human inhabitants' "family guardians").

Getting back on track, we were then showed the book's entry on Kingdom Hearts, then the book _The_ _Legendary Keyblade: A Reference Guide_, one page of which showed a picture depicting a little black pegasus with a messy mane and tail, and wielding the Kingdom Key in his mouth. The book also showed information regarding _The Land of Departure_ as well as a picture of the original forms of who were apparently Terra, Ven, and Aqua. Behind them was an elderly male with a few scars on his face, long dark hair put into a ponytail, thick eyebrows, brown eyes, and slightly darker skin. None of us knew who he was, so we continued on. Although…

"Just wondering, Sora.", said Twilight. "Were you taught how to use the Keyblade in The Land of Departure?"

"The Land of Departure?", I found myself saying. "Oh please. Sora here learned how to fight with the Keyblade all by himself. And beat up lots of bad guys while he was at it. Well, he did do some swordfightin' back at his home in Destiny Islands…"

"Wow! So Sora's self-taught?"

"Well, he did have to learn magic from someone else. Kairi, on the other hand, learned swordplay from her conscience." Everypony and Spike raised an eyebrow in confusion. "It's a long story, don't ask me. As for magic, she learned it on the way from our other magic-using friends." Suddenly, Tychophon pulled me a few steps back.

"Okay, Rael. Now what was that about?", the Shoyru asked me.

"What was wha—oh, sorry." I turned sheepishly to everypony. "I don't know what's got into me. Now where were we again?"

"We were explaining Terra, Ven, and Aqua's time here in Equestria, dear.", explained Rarity.

"Oh right. Where were we again there?"

"At the part where we found a picture of them in human form.", said Fluttershy.

"Oh right."

Back in the past, it was from seeing this picture that they realized who Terra, Ven, and Aqua really were. Twilight and the others then quickly hurried to where Celestia and Luna were talking with the three. However, they had to leave so soon, and they turned back into their human forms, summoned their armor, turned their Keyblades into aircraft of some kind, and then left through a portal. The Princesses then told them everything else about the other worlds, the Keyblade, the Keyblade War, the Unversed, and Master Xehanort, Vanitas (Ven's dark half), and their actions.

Just then, Chronicle teleported a few paces from the door in a flash of light (just like Twilight), startling the rest of us. There was a sledgehammer in his mouth, which he then set down on the side.

"Okay.", he said. "I'm done venting my anger. What'd I miss?"

"We were just telling our new friends here that we knew they're from another world, dear.", Rarity explained. "Well actually, only Twilight knew and she just told the rest of us."

"We then told them about Terra, Ven, and Aqua's visit here in Ponyville.", added Spike.

"Which also during the time I was away, wasn't it?", Chronicle asked.

"Yes.", answered Applejack.

"It's been…how many months since then?"

"Uhh, I'm gonna have to say…six and a half.", Twilight guessed.

"Hold on a second!", said Sora. "It's only been that long since their arrival before ours?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Because it's been thirteen years since all that happened."

"Do you know what happened to Terra, Ven, and Aqua?", Rainbow Dash wanted to know.

"Please tell us, Sora.", implored Kairi. "What did you learn while you and Riku were taking the Mark of Mastery Exam from Master Yen Sid?"

"Who's Riku?", asked Spike.

"A friend of ours."

"What about this Master Yen Sid, dear?", inquired Rarity.

"A retired Keyblade Master.", I answered for Kairi. "And a very powerful magician."

Sora seemed to sigh. "All right.", he relented to Kairi's request.

Sora told everyone about what he learned from Master Yen Sid and King Mickey. During the attempt to stop Master Xehanort from restarting the Keyblade War, Terra's body was taken over by the evil Keyblade Master, Ventus lost his heart in the process of stopping Vanitas from forging the χ-blade, and Aqua was lost in the Realm of Darkness (and as a side note, The Land of Departure disappeared). Twilight and her friends were saddened by this, but their hope was renewed when Sora said that he's on a quest to find them and "save them from their suffering".

"Wow!", said Pinkie as she somehow popped up from behind Sora. "Looks like an adventure!"

"But that still doesn't explain the time inconsistency.", said Twilight. "How could six and a half months pass here in Equestria while thirteen years passed outside it?"

"I have a theory behind that.", voiced Chronicle. Everypony (and dragon) turned to face him. "Do you still remember Discord?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow and spoke in an incredulous manner. "Do you expect us to forget him after everything he did to all of Equestria? And to us?"

"Of course not. Anyway, you know he can warp reality, right?"

"That's right.", agreed Applejack. "Brainwashed me to become a liar, Pinkie into a grump, Rarity into thinking that giant rock was a diamond—"

"I thought we agreed never to speak of that again.", Rarity cut in.

"Oops."

"He also turned me into a meanie, had Rainbow Dash betray us—", continued Fluttershy.

"Gave cotton candy clouds that rain chocolate," added Pinkie as she somehow popped up from behind me. "Turned the dirt roads into soap," Then behind Lea. "Wrested the Princesses' control over the sun and moon—", and then behind Wizard.

"And all other kinds of mean things just for his own amusement.", Twilight finished with a scowl on her face.

"Wait a minute. Control over the sun and moon?", asked Tychophon.

"In this world, ponies are responsible for everything in nature like changing the seasons, caring for the wild animals, and making the plants grow. Princesses Celestia and Luna raise the sun and moon respectively. However, the Everfree Forest, where I met you guys, is the only place where—"

"The plants grow, animals take care of themselves, and the clouds move—all on their own!", cut in Rainbow.

"That place just ain't natural!", added Applejack.

"Ain't natural?", asked Sora. "But isn't that what nature does? Take care of itself?"

I elbowed him and said, "Perhaps that's the case for practically every other world we've been to where there's even nature to begin with. In here, just as Twilight said, ponies manage nature."

"Okay, okay. I think we're getting off track here.", Lea interrupted. "What were we talking about again?"

"Discord.", answered Spike.

"Okay. How was he beaten? You don't look like the sort who fight the forces of evil."

"We stopped him using the Elements of Harmony.", explained Chronicle. "With the exception of myself and Spike, we embody one element each. Appleack represents Honesty, Fluttershy represents Kindness, Pinkie Pie represents Laughter, Rarity represents Generosity, Rainbow Dash represents Loyalty, and Twilight Sparkle represents Magic. The Magic of Friendship, to be exact."

"Wow.", said Kairi in awe. "I wouldn't have believed that you were magical heroines had you not told us."

"Then again, **we** probably don't look like such either.", Wizard said. "Not until we call out our weapons, that is."

"Why'd you mention Discord anyway, Chronicle?", asked Spike.

"You see, my theory is that while he was warping reality in Equestria, he probably also affected its flow of time in respect to the rest of the universe."

"But why would he do that, if he was aware?", Twilight asked.

"I'm thinking he may not have been. And even if he was, it's not like we can ask him after all that hard work in resealing him."

"Reseal? If he's so dangerous, why didn't you destroy him?", Jerry wanted to know.

"He's disharmony incarnate, the imbalance of order and chaos.", the blue unicorn explained. "He's much more powerful than both Princesses combined, and those two are plenty strong. And as much as I am tempted to ask you guys to finish him off for good—and believe me, I truly wish it—I don't trust that you can stop him before matters go out of hoof."

"Wait a second.", said Tychophon. "Aren't discord and chaos the same thing?"

"We got a 'chaotic' pony as a friend, and she represents an Element of Harmony."

Chronicle indicated Pinkie Pie, who then popped up from behind Sora, saying "That's right!".

"Oh. How is Pinkie able to pop around all over the place? She's almost like a…like a…"

"Curious question, but…", Wizard interrupted. "Is there anything in this library concerning the Guns of Light?"

"I don't think there is, with them being ponies and all.", said Lea. "It's not like they have the hands to use them."

Suddenly, Pinkie's ears flopped, then her eyes fluttered, and then the knees of her forelegs twitched, shaking Sora as she went. Spike jumped in surprise.

"What is it, Spike?", Kairi asked.

"The Pinkie Sense.", Twilight explained in an exasperated tone. "I've long since given up on trying to figure out how it works."

"That 'combo' means 'look out for opening doors'.", answered Spike.

Chronicle glanced at the door, then immediately ran to us and away from it—just in time as it opened and a mare burst in (had he not moved, she would have bumped into him). She was a khaki-colored earth pony with a wavy gray mane and tail, blue eyes, and wearing glasses. In spite of her appearance showing she was older, she still looked as 'cute' as everypony else in this town. She also had a scroll tied with a blue ribbon as a cutie mark.

"Twilight Sparkle!", she called out. "We have a crisis!"

"What's the problem, Mayor?"

"Ponyville is under attack by blue monsters!"

"What?", gasped everypony (and dragon).

Part IV. Ponyville Under Attack

We all exited the library and indeed, just as we (Sora et al.) thought, Unversed were on the attack. There were all kinds of them, chasing ponies, wreaking havoc, and general chaos. In the middle of it all were six other ponies, but they looked…sinister. None of the Unversed attacked them, which gave me the implication that they were either controlling them or are allied with whoever was commanding them. All of them were mares.

The first was a black unicorn with yellow eyes, a mane and tail streaked in maroon, grey, and silver, and had what looked like the moon in a lunar eclipse as a cutie mark.

The second was a purple earth pony with a green mane, blue eyes, a baseball cap worn backwards on her head, a black scrunchie close to her…plot, and her cutie mark was an orange mushroom with blue spots.

The third was a crimson red pegasus with a black wavy mane and tail, green-yellow eyes, a slightly larger build than most ponies, and her cutie mark was a trio of knives.

The fourth was a steel blue earth pony with magenta eyes, a cerulean tail, a mane of the same color concealing half of her face, and…lacked a cutie mark.

The fifth was a purple unicorn with green eyes and eye shadow, a black mane and tail, and a single diamond as her cutie mark.

The sixth was a black pegasus with a thick mane that was the color of the rainbow(the colors on her head were the cooler ones), an equally thick tail with the same color scheme (though they were 'vertically lined', started at red close to the root, and ended with purple), and her cutie mark was a rainbow (blue-yellow-red) entering a single black cloud.

Upon noticing the sixth one, I immediately felt that they were all somehow the antithesis of the E.O.H. (Elements of Harmony) keepers or something. Just then, they seemed to notice us look at them and immediately split off in different directions.

Twilight Sparkle turned to the mayor and said, "Get yourself and the other ponies to safety. We'll take care of this."

Just as the mayor left to do just that, Chronicle said, "Wait a minute." He then ran back inside the library. A few seconds later, he teleported back with a saddlebag. "You're gonna need these." He levitated six glowing spherical crystals out of the saddlebag, his horn glowing blue. Unlike other unicorns, whose magic auras glow in the same color (or a close enough one) as their eyes, his glowed sky blue instead of brown. "Ever since our bout with Discord, I've ordered some very special crystals from some sources I shall not confide, although I assure you they're safe and legal. These crystals are for in case we need to battle a threat that's perhaps more severe than Nightmare Moon's but not as much as Discord's." He then turned to the purple dragon. "And these aren't safe to eat, Spike."

"Are you sure about this?", asked Applejack as she was 'passed' a brown crystal.

"These crystals don't need a unicorn's power to be utilized. A bit like with those tickets back then."

"Tickets?", Sora asked, but he was ignored.

"What exactly do these do?", Twilight wanted to know as she was given a white crystal.

"Your crystal amplifies your already powerful magic.", said Chronicle. "You do know a couple of combat spells right?"

"Yeah. Aqua taught me enough. But what did you give the others?"

"The other crystals bestow its bearer powers over a certain element, or boosts it if they already have powers over it. I chose the element they will temporarily use based on their personalities for better control." He turned to each of the E.O.H. keepers. "Applejack, I give you the power of Earth because you're strong, hardworking, and have a close-to-earth temperament." He then 'gave' a green crystal. "Fluttershy, I give you the power of Wind because of your grace, and sweet and light personality." A blue crystal. "Pinkie, I give you the power of Water because of your unpredictablility and fun attitude." A red crystal. "Rarity, I give you the power of Fire for not only is it beautiful, but gives warmth and light, just like you do." A yellow crystal. "Rainbow, I give you the power of Lightning for…I'm sure you know why."

"I believe I do.", said the cyan pegasus.

"Now let's roll!"

"Right!", agreed Twilight and Sora at the same time, then looked at each other in puzzlement from their synonymous answer.

Each of us then split into pairs or threes, each with at least one world native and one from our group. Kairi was with Twilight Sparkle. Sora was with Applejack and Chronicle. Jerry was with Rainbow Dash. Wizard was with Rarity and Spike. Tychophon and I were with Fluttershy. And Lea was with Pinkie Pie.

KHKHKHKHKH

Somewhere in Ponyville…

"What's the plan, Twilight?", Kairi asked.

"I don't know. We've never had to deal with an all-out invasion of Ponyville before. Neither Nightmare Moon nor Discord ever employed minions of any sort."

"Who's Nightmare Moon?"

"Princess Luna's corrupt self, whom we purged with the Elements of Harmony."

"I see. Now that I think about it, the Elements of Harmony make me think of the Princesses of Heart."

"Princesses of Heart?"

"The Princesses of Heart are seven maidens with hearts of pure light, devoid of darkness. This allows us to open the Final Keyhole in Hollow Bastion, which is supposed to hold absolute power over the universe. We are also able to sense darkness and keep it away, although it's only powerful if enough are gathered."

"I heard you mention 'we'. Are you one of those princesses?"

"Yeah."

"Why did you compare the Elements with your status as a Princess of Heart?"

"Well, I noticed that while both are very important in holding the fate of the world/universe, neither can really defend themselves against the forces of evil that threaten what they protect. At least not when these forces employ minions like these."

As they turned the next street, they found two mares under attack by Floods and Blue Sea Salts. One was a grey pegasus mare with yellow eyes in a crossed manner, a chiffon yellow mane and tail, and seven bubbles as her cutie mark. The other was a light olive-colored earth pony mare with chartreuse eyes, an orange curled mane and tail, and three carrots as her cutie mark. To Kairi and Twilight's surprise, they were handling themselves fairly well, with the pegasus using a cloud to let out thunderbolts at the Unversed…some of which also hit too close to her earth pony friend's for her comfort. (7)

"Derpy Hooves! Golden Harvest!", Twilight called.

The earth pony bucked a Flood before running to the two unicorns. "Twilight!", she called back.

The pegasus didn't seem to pay attention as she clumsily jumped an ice attack, then stomped on the cloud again and struck the Blue Sea Salt who launched it with a bolt.

"Derpy!", Twilight called again.

The pegasus gave one last stomp on her cloud, letting out a series of bolts that wiped out the remaining Unversed attacking them. She then turned to the two unicorns.

"Hey there, Twilight.", Derpy greeted in a silly manner. "Could you and your friend lend a hoof here?"

"Get yourselves and the other ponies to safety!", said Kairi. "We'll take care of this!"

"Oh, all right."

As the two bypassed her and Twilight, the pegasus suddenly stopped and turned to the latter, holding to her cloud all the while.

"Uhh, Twilight?", she said as her friend disappeared around the corner. "I'm sorry about dropping that pot, anvil, wagon, and piano down on you."

"Already put it behind me.", replied the purple unicorn. "Now go!"

"Gotcha!"

Once Derpy was gone, Kairi summoned her Keyblade, which floated beside her, having learnt more telekinesis from Twilight, who held the crystal Chronicle gave her in her mane.

"Hold on.", said Kairi. "A pot, anvil, wagon, **and** a piano were dropped on you?"

"Could we talk about this later?", retorted Twilight.

The Floods jumped into the ground like shadows and approached the two unicorns. The Blue Sea Salts charged themselves with ice and swooped right for them. Twilight conjured a ball of ice and shot it at the Unversed, which split into shards and knocked them back. As the Floods 'resurfaced', Kairi 'moved' her Keyblade and had it slash at the little Unversed, slicing them down in one hit.

KHKHKHKHKH

Meanwhile…

Just at Carousel Buotique, Rarity's home and workplace, there was a unicorn defending an earth pony (both were mares) while they were backed up at a nearby tree, which had a cat on its branches.

The unicorn had a turquoise coat, gold-colored eyes, grayish cyan hair with white highlights, and a lyre cutie mark. The earth pony had a pale cream coat, cyan eyes, curled navy hair with pink highlights, and three wrapped candies as a cutie mark. The cat on the tree had white fluffy fur, a wide face, and a shortened muzzle. She wore an opal-studded collar around her neck, and a purple ribbon on the top of her head.

Surrounding the three of them were Yellow Mustard Unversed and boot-shaped Unversed called Shoegazers.

These 'boots' had cyan straps, silver soles, and other cyan and silver additives. Peeking out of the top of the boots were bue spherical heads, which had two curved horns on the top of their heads both pointing forward. Their eyes were set in a sorrowful expression and their emblem was on the front of the boot's leg.

The unicorn's horn glowed gold as she shielded herself and her friend from their stomping attacks with a barrier and retaliated with a few musical note-shaped blasts of magic. However, she seemed to be faltering as sweat ran down her face. One Yellow Mustard noticed that the cat wasn't being shielded and was about to tackle her when a blast of light shot it down. Following was a cluster of fireballs that cruised across the air and right into the Shoegazers, who unfortunately put up their shields.

Arriving at the Carousel Botique were Wizard, who had his GunDeLuna ready, Rarity, who had shot those fireballs thanks to the red crystal Chronicle gave her, and Spike, who rode on the former's back.

"Seriously, Rarity.", said Wizard. "Couldn't you have sent those fireballs any faster?"

"Forgive me if I'm not as upfront as my other friends, dear.", the unicorn replied as her horn glowed blue. "Sans Fluttershy, of course."

"Guys, could we stop arguing?", asked Spike.

During the short argument, some of the Shoegazers recovered and shattered the cyan unicorn's shield…sending her rearing up and slamming her back to the tree. The unicorn leaned there for a few seconds like a human being. Then, just as a Shoegazer hopped to attack her, it was bucked by the cream earth pony. The cyan unicorn then blasted the Unversed with more "musical notes". All the while, the cat hissed.

"Heartstrings! Bon Bon!", Rarity called to the two mares, who turned to her. "Would you please get Opal down and get yourselves to safety?"

"We'll handle this.", declared Wizard as he shot down more Unversed that were attacking Spike, who had dismounted and run ahead of them.

The unicorn, Heartstrings, said, "Thanks. Will do." She then 'picked up' the cat named Opal and 'set' her close to the ground, but still 'holding' her. She then got back down on all fours. "Can we hide in your store for the time being?"

"Why, of course, darling.", replied Rarity as Spike rushed a Shoegazer and started slashing at them with his claws, which were searing with flames.

"Thanks, Rarity.", said the earth pony, Bon Bon, as Heartstrings opened the door. They then both entered the Carousel Botique, Heartstrings 'carrying' Opal.

Just before Bon Bon could close the door, Rarity asked, "Wait a second. Have any of you two dears seen my sister Sweetie Belle?"

"Sorry, but we haven't.", said Heartstrings as she 'set down' Opal on the floor. Once the door was closed, Rarity and Wizard ran to it to bar the Unversed from entry. Spike reeled back to join them after being spazzed by a Yellow Mustard's thunder pounce.

"Let's get this over with.", told Wizard. "Then we'll find your sister."

"Right.", agreed Spike and Rarity simultaneously.

KHKHKHKHKH

Elsewhere, outside Ponyville proper…

"Hurry up!"

Rainbow Dash was at the lead, Jerry slightly struggling to keep up. Fluttershy struggled too, but not to Jerry's extent (to his confusion, although he attributed it to him not being used to his wings yet). Tychophon zoomed as best as he could behind them. As for me, since I wasn't as quickly adaptive to my wings as Jerry was with his, I rode on my hover scooter and brought up the rear. Once, we ended up speeding right into a boulder. Everyone else swerved around it, but my scooter didn't have the turning power to do the same at our current speed and I didn't have the 'reaction time' either. Left with only one alternative, I used my wings and propelled myself and the scooter right over the big rock before 'landing' back on the ground.

"Why was there a rock in the middle of the road, anyway?", I wondered to myself.

"Hey Rael.", Rainbow Dash said as she turned her head.

"Yeah?", I asked.

"The way you ride your scooter and made that jump…you remind me of somepony who looks up to me."

"Oh, I think I know who you're referring to, Rainbow Dash.", said Fluttershy.

"Hurry up, Scootaloo!", a young filly's voice came.

Rainbow Dash seemed to react in shock. "This way!", she shouted as she quickly changed direction. We all followed suit. Eventually, we saw the source of the scream, although we were still too far to be of any help. Setting my scooter on autopilot, I took a look with a pair of advanced binoculars I was given back in Neopia before starting this adventure.

From what I could see, there was an orange pegasus filly with purple eyes and short pinkish purple hair (her mane almost shaped like a feather) on a scooter, which had a loop for a hook to latch onto. And a hook there was, which was attached to a wheelbarrow handle. On the wheelbarrow were a yellow earth pony filly with amber eyes and a big red ribbon on her rose-colored mane, a pinkish-white unicorn (as I was told later) filly with light green eyes and curled light purple-pink hair, and a pale purple unicorn filly with yellow eyes and hair. With the exception of the last one, they all wore helmets. The scooter rider's was purple with two white stripes, the unicorn's was green, and the earth pony's was blue. Also, the last filly was the only one with a cutie mark, which was…an archer's bow and arrow. _Huh?_, I thought. _How do ponies do archery, anyway?_

Running alongside them were four other ponies, one of them a mare and three of them fillies. The mare was a cherry-colored earth pony, with pink/cherry hair and three daisies as her cutie mark. One filly was a cream white earth pony with frizzy red hair, purple glasses, and a pair of candy canes forming a heart as a cutie mark. The second was a pink earth pony filly with a lavender-and-white mane, azure eyes, a tiara on her head, and another one on her flank as a cutie mark. The third was an azureish gray earth pony filly with a grey mane (in a ponytail with a pink small ribbon) and tail, violet eyes, cyan glasses, a pearl necklace, and a magenta heartshape-tipped spoon as a cutie mark.

Chasing all of them were a dozen mechanical creatures lacking legs. Their bodies were wide, bulky, and sported two small headlights. Their arms each ended in large, conical lance heads. Their heads were black and partially fused with the body, and they had a large turn key sticking out of the top. They came in several color varieties, including blue, yellow, and red, but all of them sported the same red eyes set in an angry expression and the Unversed emblem on the front of their bodies. They were Glidewinders.

"Hey, Scootaloo!", said the fily with the tiara. "Give us a lift!"

"No can do, Diamond Tiara!", replied the pegasus filly. "This wheelbarrow's only got room for three!"

"We saw you give your two friends and Pinkie Pie a ride. Surely there's room for, like, one more!"

"Now now, fillies.", said the mare in a slightly panicked tone. "This isn't the time to argue. Especially when we're being chased by monsters who want to do who knows what on us!"

Immediately, everypony picked up the pace. And not just them; so did the Glidewinders. And so did we as we tried to close the distance. However, there was a fork in the road where the Glidewinders and their targets were running down. The ones in the scooter and wheelbarrow went one way, the rest another, and the Glidewinders both ways, six each. We reached the fork and stopped there, wondering which way to go or who should go where.

"Okay.", I said quickly. "Which way and who?"

"I'm helping the Cutie Mark Crusaders!", declared Rainbow Dash. "Jerry, you with me!" Immediately, she zoomed off where the scooter-driven wheelbarrow went off to, Jerry following.

"Looks like we go the other way.", said Tychophon as he took off for the other fork.

"Hey! Wait up!", I yelled as Fluttershy and I immediately followed a second later. As the three of us zoomed down the road, we could see the Glidewinders up ahead.

"We need to go faster!", said the Shoyru. "If we could only get the wind on our side… Oh, wait… I can do that!"

With that (as I thought I heard something else), he began to channel the power of wind in him and picked up speed. Suddenly, I found myself and Fluttershy picking up speed as well, the air resistance around us somehow being reduced. I turned to the yellow pegasus to see the green crystal glowing in her mane.

_Ah…she's using the crystal Chronicle gave her._, I thought.

We finally caught up with the Glidewinders, which were still chasing the four ponies. Tychophon took out an arrow, nocked it, aimed at the Glidewinder's head, and let it loose. The arrow struck home and the Unversed began to spin out of control. As it bumped with its fellow Glidewinders, I performed Sky Dropper, sending an invisible ceiling down on the Glidewinders. A small tornado followed from Fluttershy, blowing them about as I finished off many of them with Charge Shots. Tychophon eliminated the last one with a 'crescent kick'.

Once the Glidewinders were taken care of, the four chased ponies stopped. Fluttershy, who seemed rather disturbed from what we just did, approached them and checked if they were okay.

"Cheerilee, are you all right?", she asked the earth pony mare.

"Thank you and your friends for helping us."

Fluttershy then turned to the red-maned filly. "Twist?"

"Yesh, mish.", Apparently, Twist had a speech impediment of some kind, a lisp if I remembered the term correctly.

"Silver Spoon?"

"Uh-huh.", said the azureish gray filly.

"Diamond Tiara?"

The pink filly nodded. "I'm okay." Suddenly, Twist widened her eyes as if remembering something.

"Wait! Where'th Apple Bloom?", she said.

"If I recall correctly, Rainbow Dash took off to where they went.", Tychophon answered. "I'm sure she'll save them."

KHKHKHKHKH

At the other fork…

Jerry and Rainbow Dash managed to catch up to the Glidewinders that were chasing the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The cyan pegasus explained that (with the exception of the helmet-less one) the fillies are a trio who lacked cutie marks (which define their special talent) and do all sorts of hijinks just to find them. The earth pony with the ribbon was Apple Bloom, Applejack's little sister. The unicorn filly was Sweetie Belle, Rarity's little sister. The scooter rider was Scootaloo, who idolizes Rainbow. As for the helmet-less filly, all she knew was that her name was Dinky.

"I just hope they haven't decided to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders Glidewinder Dodgers.", Rainbow added.

"Cutie Mark Crusaders Glidewinder Dodgers! Yay!", came three voices.

"You just had to say it, didn't you?", snarked Jerry. "But how do they know the Unversed's names anyway?"

The cyan pegasus shrugged. "I dunno. Guesswork?"

"There are wind-up devices in this world?"

"Yeah. Why'd you ask?"

"Nothin'."

Erstwhile, at the other side of the Glidewinders, Dinky was shooting small blasts of light at the Unversed, her horn glowing yellow. Sweetie Belle hasn't learned much magic yet, so she wasn't able to help. However, Dinky's shots were just as effective as throwing a stone; not very much. Double however, they were all on the head, which seemed to be doing visible damage as they shook each time they were hit on that spot.

"Could you teach me how to do that, Dinky?", asked Sweetie Belle.

"Teach you what?"

"That. The way you shot at their heads with such precision."

"Err…" Dinky tried to think of an answer. "I don't really know. I've always been able to hit things with such skill with whatever I throw."

"Is that how you got your cutie mark?"

"Hmm…maybe."

"Faster, Scootaloo!", cried out Apple Bloom in a not-distressed manner. "Faster!"

"I'm trying! I'm trying!", cried out the pegasus filly.

Two Glidewinders caught up with them and flanked them. They began to spin their claws and were about to ram themselves into the Crusaders when Scootaloo suddenly slowed down just in time for them to bump into each other and temporarily spin out. However, a third Glidewinder managed to bump into the wheelbarrow from behind, knocking Sweetie Belle off balance. Before she could fall off, Apple Bloom caught her by the tail with her teeth and got her back on the wheelbarrow.

Just then, they saw Rainbow Dash descend from the skies, carrying a black cloud. The cyan pegasus raised her hooves, then brought them down on her cloud, releasing a powerful lightning bolt, more powerful than naturally possible. The bolt scarred the ground, destroyed three Glidewinders, and made the fourth one that was close to the Crusaders spin out before being destroyed by a bolt of blue lightning. Jerry came into view, one hoof forward slightly smoking.

"Nice work with that cloud!", said the Force-user as he saw the yellow crystal glow in Rainbow Dash's mane. He then sped past her and the fillies, and prepared to confront the remaining two Glidewinders. The two Unversed turned their heads to see Jerry unleash another lightning bolt that destroyed them.

With the enemy gone, everypony slowed down. As it turned out, the Glidewinder chase took them all the way to Ponyville's Schoolhouse.

The four fillies got off their rides and the Cutie Mark Crusaders checked their flanks…which remained blank.

"Aww…", the three complained.

"Still no cutie mark!", Apple Bloom groaned.

"Are you kids okay?", Jerry asked the fillies.

"Sure are!", answered Scootaloo. "But…what are kids?"

"Uhh…kids are young 'uns like you."

"Here, we call them fillies.", Rainbow Dash whispered to Jerry.

"Okay.", Jerry whispered back.

"Oh.", the orange filly said, then changed the subject. "Wonder what we could do next?"

"Maybe we could try hitting targets by throwing stuff, like Dinky.", suggested Sweetie Belle.

"Maybe we could try finding out how **he **got his cutie mark!", suggested Apple Bloom, pointing at Jerry's flank.

"Maybe we could help chase these monsters off of Ponyville!", suggested Scootaloo.

"Or maybe you could go and hide somewhere safe before those monsters decide to eat you!", came a menacing voice.

This voice spooked the Crusaders and they boarded the scooter/wheelbarrow, ready to go. Dinky daintily followed them. As for Rainbow Dash, her eyes shrunk into pinpricks on seeing that the voice was from Jerry.

"Creepy voice.", he then said in his normal voice. "Works every time. Let's get these ki—uhh, fillies somewhere safe."

KHKHKHKHKH

Meanwhile, back in Ponyville…

"The horror! The horror!", three voices were crying out at the same time.

Three earth pony mares were surrounded by Glidewinders and Bruisers, the former circling them over and over, staring at them as they turned their heads.

The first had a cream-colored coat, burgundy-and-pink hair, green eyes, and a rose cutie mark. The second had a gala pink coat, curled light green hair, jade eyes, and two daisies as a cutie mark. The third was fuchsia-colored, had creamy blonde hair, a lily on her mane, light yellow eyes, and three lilies as a cutie mark.

"Pinkie Pie to the rescue, Flower Ponies!", a bubbly voice came.

Out of nowhere, a beach wave came in from the street. On a red surfboard were Pinkie Pie and Lea, the former with the blue crystal glowing in her mane. (8) In the wave were other Unversed that were washed away prior to their entrance. Lea conjured fireballs and shot down more Unversed with them. This wave then washed down the Unversed surrounding the Flower Ponies, sparing the trio of mares while Pinkie was at it.

Just then, Hareraiser and Shoegazer Unversed appeared. Pinkie 'dismissed' her wave (and surfboard) as she and Lea landed on either side of the Flower Ponies, protecting them from attack. The Shoegazers and Hareraisers charged, but Pinkie just hopped on each of them as they passed. Once she was past them all, she manifested a whip of water and tripped them up.

Meanwhile, Lea had his chakrams make a protective ring around the Flower Ponies, who were understandably terrified. The pyrokinetic then used his magic to do various fire spells. He was controlling numerous fireballs that made their way to the Unversed, setting them on fire, only for them to then be drenched by water from Pinkie (much to his disappointment), which did them in anyways.

KHKHKHKHKH

In another part of Ponyville…

"Back! Back, I say!"

There was a beige stallion with a short drab brown mane and tail and an hourglass cutie mark. On his mouth was a strange, cylindrical, metallic contraption (which had the general shape of a pen) which he called a "sonic screwdriver". He shot green beams from it, which paralyzed the Bruiser and Red Hot Chili Unversed that were attacking them. By them meaning himself, Minuette, Sora, Applejack, and Chronicle.

"Remind me again how we got into this mess?", asked Sora as he whacked back a Bruiser with his Keyblade.

"Doctor Whooves and Minuette were in trouble. We came and helped. How's that difficult to follow?", Chronicle asked, whose horn was imbued with power in such a way that it was now longer and acted like a blade of energy.

"It's not that it's difficult. It just popped into my head."

Minuette blasted a Red Hot Chili with an ice spell from her horn, which glowed blue. A Bruiser went in to attack from the side, but it was bucked away by Applejack.

"Let's see if this gem o' yours really works for non-unicorns.", she then said to Chronicle.

"It does work!", the blue-coated brown-eyed unicorn insisted as he slashed at a Bruiser in front of him with his 'magic horn blade'. "Trust me!"

Applejack raised her forelegs, her crystal glowing in her mane, then brought them down on the ground. Upon contact, the ground rumbled and earth pillars popped from underneath the Bruisers and Red Hot Chilis, sending the former to the air and the latter into non-existence. Sora then shot a Blizzaga spell at them with his Keyblade and Minuette cast ice spells as well. The attacks destroyed these Unversed as they did not have that "Borsa Magib" aura like the ones back at Oakey Oaks.

Suddenly, a new kind of Unversed appeared. They were large, nearly spherical, and bomb-like Unversed called Tank Topplers. Their upper halves were black (and bear the Unversed emblem) and their lower halves were navy blue with red stripes, with a red line separating the two. Their heads had an antenna resembling a balloon's air hole, and eyes set in an angry expression. Their arms were very short, nearly spherical, and useless. There was also a golden valve on their upper back.

Chronicle did a few slashes at the first opportunity, but all it did was make them glow red and swell. "Aww, horse apples!", he complained once he realized what this meant. Applejack had bucked one of these Tank Topplers at the front, experiencing similar results. She was then hit by gusts of air from their arms. Some of them then started to bounce around and everypony ran in different directions, although they still stuck in the general area.

Amidst the mayhem, Doctor Whooves managed to find a weak point. He told Minuette about it, who then 'shot' an inflated Tank Toppler at the back with an ice bolt. The Unversed released air in its body as it seemingly deflated. Sora however already figured that out seconds ago, having fought lots of enemies like this, and was expertly taking them down. Chronicle managed to catch on, although Applejack struggled to follow.

In spite of this, a few Tank Topplers ended up swelling to the point that any attacks on them were now useless, even back attacks. As the Unversed began to roll around, Sora realized what was about to happen.

"Run for it!", he said at about the same time. "They're gonna blow!"

"I got this!", assured Applejack as she stomped on the ground once more. Immediately, pillars of earth popped from underneath the Tank Topplers and sent them up into the air like a plunger hits a pinball. The Unversed then harmlessly exploded in the sky.

"Nice work there, Applejack!", commended Chronicle. "Although I forgot to mention that you better be conservative in using those crystals. Like unicorn magic, those crystals can take out a lot in you if you use them too much."

"Same thing applies with my magic.", said Sora.

"In any case, I think you know what I'm trying to tell you, right?"

Part V. The Fight Continues

Later, in yet another part of Ponyville…

There were two unicorn colts on the run. One was short with a pale cyan coat, black eyes, burnt orange-colored hair, and a pair of white open scissors as a cutie mark. The other was lanky with a brownish-gold, aquamarine hair, freckles on his face, and a pink purple-shell snail cutie mark.

Chasing both of them were two different kinds of Unversed called Monotruckers and Scrappers.

The former kind were black-skinned, humanoid, and had teal one-wheeled wheelbarrows (marked with the Unversed emblem) in place of their lower bodies. Their heads were round and vaguely triangular and sported two short ears on the top of their heads, with another antenna sprouting out of its forehead suspending a blue lamp. Their arms both ended in gold and silver pickaxes and their red eyes were set in an angry expression.

The latter kind were 'humanoids' with blue skin, their hands silver and ending in three-fingered claws, heads diamond-shaped with two short horns on either side of it, red eyes set in a sorrowful expression, and the Unversed emblem on their chests.

The two colts were chased across alleyway, the Monotruckers and Scrappers finding them wherever they went. Eventually, they were cornered into a dead end. The Unversed slowed in their run and began to approach slowly. Both colts shook in fright as they awaited their end.

"Snails.", said the cyan colt. "If we don't make it…I just wanna say…"

"Ya don't have ta say it, Snips.", replied the other colt. "We're toast aren't we?"

"Yeah."

"Delicious, buttery toast. I'd love to have some when he get home."

Snips 'palmed' himself in the face with his hoof. Suddenly, a small purple dragon jumped in between the colts and the Unversed. Following were two white ponies; a stallion with a cyan messy mane, and a mare with a styled violet mane and a unicorn horn.

"Tell me again why we had to enter in this fashion?", asked Wizard.

"Aww, come on!", complained Spike. "I always wanted to do this!" Just then, a Scrapper slashed him with its claws. It didn't hurt him much, but the force of the blow pushed him back.

"Perhaps we should focus on the task at hoof, boys.", advised Rarity as she called up a fireball with her crystal.

"My thoughts exactly.", said Wizard as he summoned his GunDeLuna.

As the two colts they were protecting backed further away, Spike started by unleashing a breath of fire on the Unversed, sending them reeling back. Rarity then shot her fireball at the Scrapper that hit Spike, destroying it. Wizard followed with a couple of shots from the GunDeLuna. In his current body, he was unable to perform any of his innate Techo abilities and thus wasn't really as effective a fighter in his current quadruped form. Just then, the Unversed stood in a line and began to charge, only to be thwarted by a line of fire.

"I can't fathom what Chronicle was thinking when he decided that I should have this element.", complained Rarity as she maintained the spell. "It's too dangerous and risky if you ask me."

"I think that's exactly the reason you have it. You're the only one who can best utilize it.", guessed Wizard as he and Spike repelled the Scrappers that jumped the wall. "From the little time we had so far with you girls, I saw how…not-all-there Pinkie can be, how Rainbow can be reckless, how Fluttershy seems to be too meek for him to even think of giving it to her, and Twilight's already got that amplifier. Not sure about Applejack though."

"Take that!", Spike cried out as he dodged a Monotrucker that plowed through the fire wall and tried to slash at him with its pickaxes, countering with his own claws and fire breath.

KHKHKHKHKH

In Sugarcube Corner…

Blue Sea Salts and Floods were invading the store. The owners (whom no one in Sora's group were able to see at their welcoming party) were in a corner as they came in.

One of them was a lanky amber yellow earth pony with green eyes, orange mane and freckles, and three carrot cakes as a cutie mark. The other was a chubby cyan earth pony with purple eyes, a rose mane, a pair of rose-colored stud earrings, and three cupcakes as a cutie mark.

With them were Octavia and DJ-Pon3, the former with her cello bow held on her right forehoof, and the latter with her horn glowing red as she repelled the Unversed with a barrier. The two **were** supposed to leave after the party, but they had decided to rest up beforehoof. And unfortunately, that was when the Unversed incidentally attacked.

Just then, the door flew open as Lea jumped into the scene. Following was Pinkie Pie. With a saddlebag holding water balloons.

"Don't worry, Mr. and Mrs. Cake!", said Pinkie. "It's Pinkie Pie to the rescue!"

"And Lea! Got it memorized?" Lea then summoned his chakrams and launched them at the Unversed. They went through many of them, all without setting the whole store on fire. Any remaining Unversed were doused by Pinkie's water balloons, then encased in spheres of them. Lea then 'sliced' them with his chakrams. However, another 'wave' then appeared. They composed of Scrappers and Yellow Mustards.

The Scrappers clasped their hands together before rushing…at the Cakes. Some of them managed to breach the DJ's barrier, but were whacked away by Octavia, who swung her bow at them. Each of them then got trapped in water spheres manifested by Pinkie as she then moved them towards her. However, a few Yellow Mustards Lea was handling reached the pink earth pony and tackled her with their electrically-charged bodies. She was sent tumbling across the floor, but somehow ended up landing on her feet again.

"Did they just…don't tell me they just…", she stuttered.

"Oh, I think they just—"

Immediately, her expression changed into something crazy. "You wanna get wild? Let's get wild!" Immediately, Pinkie began to spin round and round, creating a tornado of water around her that began to suck in the Unversed.

"Uh oh.", gulped Lea as he proceeded to shoot down the Yellow Mustards before they could get to Pinkie. "Doesn't she know that water conducts electricity?" Just then, one of them reached the tornado, but a pink hoof shot out and bucked it right into Lea, who 'cut' it down with one chakram. "Okay. Looks like she knows that, but it's still risky." He turned to the Cakes and the musicians. "You four better go somewhere else safe." The three earth ponies and one unicorn nodded and ran off into the kitchen (and upstairs).

KHKHKHKHKH

Somewhere in the outskirts of Ponyville…

Sora was following Chronicle and Applejack to an apple farm called Sweet Apple Acres. Ahead, they could see a dogpile of Bruisers, apparently trying to keep whatever they were pinning down from trying to get away. There was also a dog of border collie breed barking at the pile.

"Who's under that pile?", Sora cried out in distress.

"Let's hurry so we can find out!", answered Chronicle as everypony picked up the pace, especially Applejack. Just then, the Bruisers were sent flying in all directions, some even over the afternoon horizon, much to Sora's utter surprise. "Okay. No need for that."

The one who bucked the Bruisers was a red earth pony stallion with a more buff body than most ponies, a horse collar around his neck, a short orange mane and tail, dark green eyes, white freckles on his face, visible yellow 'hooves', and half of a green apple as a cutie mark.

"Big Macintosh!", Applejack cried out. "You okay?"

"Eeyup.", he responded as he shook off some dust from his coat.

"Winona!" The dog perked her ears in response as her owner and her friends arrived. "Mac! Have you seen Apple Bloom?"

"Last saw her with the Cutie Mark Crusaders."

"What about Granny Smith?"

"In the barn."

"I'll see to her safety." Chronicle said as he conjured up a flying star made of magic energy and hit a Bruiser on the head that was trying to get up, dissipating it.

"A shuriken.", Sora commented to himself as he sliced down some of the knocked down Bruisers.

Just then, as Chronicle made his way to the barn, Winona following for some reason, more of the Bruisers that were knocked away got up and began to attack again. Following that, Tank Topplers and Archravens appeared.

"Hit the ball-like ones in the back!", Sora advised as earth spikes protruded from the ground by Applejack's crystal, striking the Tank Topplers on their weak spots.

"Easier said than done for me.", said Big Macintosh as he bucked a Bruiser right into a tree, and it somehow bounced right into a Tank Toppler, sending it tumbling so that its valve end was open for him to buck again, destroying it.

"I'll deal with these!" Sora then cast Thundara with his Keyblade, summoning small thunderclouds that appeared above the Archravens and struck them down.

In the barn…

It was a good thing Chronicle decided to help Granny Smith, for she was in trouble.

There was a lime green earth pony mare, trying to hobble away from the Floods surounding her. Her hair was white with age and both tied in a bun. Her eyes were colored orange, wore an orange apple-spotted laced neckerchief, and had an apple pie cutie mark. There were also two earth pony stallions with her, although they were about Chronicle's size and not that of Big Macintosh's. One had a beige coat, dark brown hair seemingly styled, and three horseshoes as a cutie mark. The other had a blue coat lighter than Chronicle's, messy hair of a darker shade, and two musical notes as a cutie mark. Neither of the stallions seemed capable of defending the old mare or themselves.

"Caramel? Noteworthy?", gasped Chronicle. "What are you two doing here in Sweet Apple Acres?"

"We got chased all the way here by these blue monsters.", said Noteworthy, the blue earth pony, as he jumped away from an attacking Flood.

"Oh won't somepony help me get this blue pest off my back?", the elderly mare yelled in distress as a Flood got onto her back. Her two companions were too scared to help.

"Got it, Granny!", answered Chronicle as he came in, then shot it down with a 'magic shuriken'. He shot a few more, taking out all the Floods (and Winona pouncing on a few as well) with one each as he ran to the elderly mare's assistance.

"Why thank you, lad.", said Granny Smith. "Such a brave pony. Unlike these two." She sneered at Noteworthy and Caramel, then turned her attention back to Chronicle. "How're my children? I sure hope they're safe."

"Applejack and Big Macintosh are keeping the big blue 'pests' out with a new friend of ours. Not sure about Apple Bloom, though. Mac said she's with her friends."

"Uhh…could we save the talking for later?", Caramel cut in as he pointed to where Chronicle came in. Upon turning, more Floods appeared. Chronicle conjured more 'magic shurikens' and readied his 'magic horn blade', ready to protect the three ponies.

KHKHKHKHKH

Back at Ponyville…

Jerry and Rainbow Dash were leading the Cutie Mark Crusaders (and Dinky) back to their homes and to safety. Around them, ponies were either running, hiding, or fighting the Unversed. For those who were fighting, pegasi were using clouds to send down lightning bolts (although they weren't as strong as Rainbow Dash's); unicorns were conjuring barriers, firing blasts of light from their horns, and tossing/swinging stuff around like bludgeons; and earth ponies grabbed whatever they could in their mouths and started swinging them at the Unversed or otherwise just bucked them.

As the six ponies crossed a street, they saw two mares and a filly on the run from a herd of blue pony-sized…alicorns?

The first mare was a pink unicorn with purple hair with a streak of a lighter shade, purple eyes, and three brilliant-cut diamonds as a cutie mark. The second mare was a light plum earth pony with mullberry-colored hair, violet eyes, and a grape-and-strawberry cutie mark. The filly was a carnation pink unicorn with pink hair having a white streak, forest green eyes, and three reddish-pink gems as a cutie mark.

Both 'parties' met at the road, with Rainbow Dash quickly naming the three as they stopped after passing by the two. The pink mare was Amethyst Star, Dinky's older sister. The plum mare was Berry Punch and the filly was her daughter Ruby Pinch. Before Jerry could ask how is an earth pony a mother to a unicorn, Rainbow turned his attention to the blue pursuers and they saw something odd about them.

Their eyes were red, not round like that of a regular pony, and strangely shaped in an angry expression. Their hair was spiky and as blue as their coats, they had yellowish-green markings on their hooves, and their cutie marks were all the same. These marks have been seen in all the blue monsters that have been terrorizing Ponyville. For all intents and purposes, these ponies were actually Unversed.

"I knew there was something wrong with those ponies!", cried out Rainbow.

"You only figured it out just now?", Jerry snarked.

"Yup!" In her anger, she didn't realize that thunderclouds manifested right above these 'false alicorns', her crystal glowing. By the time everypony saw the clouds, the clouds were already delivering lightning bolts on what Jerry decided to name Suicorns (for some reason). (9)

Some Suicorns took flight and raised barriers to block the thunder while others charged, their horns glowing red with magic. Jerry had his sabers ready, knowing he's need more than just the Force to fight this kind of enemy. As they reached him, he swung his weapons at their legs, paralyzing them on the spot as they stumbled. These Suicorns weren't done and began to bombard him with fire and ice spells. However, none of them made it to him as a barrier formed.

"Thanks for keeping Dinky safe." As Rainbow Dash sped at the Suicorns, tackling them down with her super speed and electricity coursing through her body thanks to her crystal, Jerry turned to see Amethyst Star casting the barrier, her horn glowing violet-red. "Now go kick their flanks!"

Jerry nodded and manifested a moderate amount of energy in front of him, performing Force Destruction. He then shot it at the Suicorns, destroying one and pushing asunder the others nearby. The force of the blast was enough to disturb the flying Suicorns from casting their barrier, not having realized the thunderclouds were no longer bringing down lightning bolts.

They were then tackled by Rainbow Dash, who then followed up by taking a cloud above and unleashing her crystal's element down on them. The ensuing bolts completely eradicated the remaining Unversed. However, more of them immediately appeared out of nowhere, appearing in the same fashion as Twilight Sparkle and Chronicle when they teleport.

"Oh, come on!", Jerry complained as he 'moved' his sabers back to him.

Rainbow Dash returned to his side, then turned to Scootaloo. "Hey, Scoots."

"Yeah?", the pegasus filly perked up upon hearing.

"Get yourselves and these ponies to safety! Things are about to get rough!"

"Anything for you, Rainbow Dash!", Scootaloo saluted, then turned to her fellow Crusaders. "Anypony got a suggestion of a safe place?"

"I know of one!", voiced Berry Punch.

"Lead the way for them, ma'am!", said Jerry as he and Rainbow Dash held the line. Berry Punch nodded as she led her daughter, Amethyst, Dinky, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders down a detour Jerry had failed to notice earlier. "Now how did I miss that?", he wondered as he quickly turned back to the Suicorns, whose horns were now charged with various elemental magic. He turned to the cyan pegasus. "You think we can still handle these fellows?"

"Sure we can!", Rainbow Dash assured, confidence in her voice, although Jerry could sense a hint of uncertainty.

KHKHKHKHKH

Somewhere outside Ponyville…

After seeing Cheerilee and her three students (as it turns out) to safety, Tychophon and I followed Fluttershy down a road leading to a large sod-roof cottage covered with beautiful plants near the Everfree Forest that was the latter's home, although it wasn't close to the route where we landed and met with Twilight Sparkle (as well as had our first 'skirmish' with the Unversed).

We could also see houses and shelters for an assortment of small animals, although their usual residents seemed to be absent, replaced with Hareraisers, Archravens, and Floods. There were also another kind of Unversed called Thornbites.

From what I could see with my binoculars, their lower bodies resembled orange flower pots/spinning tops. Their heads were round, and had pink flowers on top. Their arms, which sprouted from either side of the head, were long, green, thorny vines that end in dark green leaves. Their eyes were set in a sorrowful expression and their emblem could be found at the back of their heads.

"Hmm…why are we being introduced to many kinds of Unversed right here in Equestria?", I muttered to myself. "Hold on a second!" I then gasped, catching both of my yellow companions' attention. "Is that…a white bunny fighting them?" Amongst the Unversed, I could see a white bunny wearing a pasta strainer upside down on his head and holding a carrot as if it were a two-handed sword. He was only as tall as a Flood and was deflecting their claw attacks with his carrot. _Hold on a second? Do ponies even eat spaghetti?_, I had a random thought.

"White bunny?", Fluttershy seemed to react in shock. "Angel!" Immediately, she picked up speed, leaving Tychophon and me in the dust.

"Whoa!", gasped my Shoyru. "Didn't think she'd be the speedy one."

"Maybe only when provoked.", I guessed as we immediately followed. We crossed the already open gate, taking out any Unversed in the way, although we had minor problems with the Thornbites, with them spinning like tops and trying to smack us with vines. The area was small, so it was quite crowded. Even though we can fly, there were also the Archravens to worry about.

I could see Angel visibly struggling against the Floods attacking him. Fluttershy was trying to get to him, but wasn't able to make much progress. Even with her crystal's power to blow the Unversed aside, as well as our assistance, she couldn't get to her bunny, who was now getting pushed right into some Hareraisers.

These Unversed began to spin and began shooting lasers. I immediately cast Magnera, taking the Hareraisers and other Unversed into it, but it was a second too late as the lasers made it to Angel, hitting him multiple times. The resulting attack made him lose his grip of his carrot and fall over as if beaten. Time seemed to slow in my perspective as I turned to Fluttershy, whose eyes widened in shock, then changed into one of anger. It was like her eyes could look deep into my soul.

I started to retreat, taking out other Unversed in the area as a strong wind began to build up around our sweet pegasus companion, beginning to form what I knew to be a small tornado as her crystal glowed bright. Tychophon turned to see what was happening and immediately went over to me, conjuring a shield of wind to protect us as Unversed, starting with the ones gathered by my Magnera spell, were sucked into the tornado that formed around our pegasus friend, which then began to move away from the cottage before it could cause any extensive damage to it. I was uncertain whether I should shoot or not, not knowing where Fluttershy was in the tornado she manifested. Tychophon on the other hand decided to take the risk of shooting. Before he could nock an arrow however, the tornado suddenly…ceased to exist.

We could see Fluttershy in the middle, cuddling Angel (without the pasta strainer helmet) in her forelegs. Around her were various debris, which began to drop to the ground, and the various Unversed, which 'popped' into dark flames one by one. Tychophon and I could only stare dumbstruck as she slowly landed on the ground.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry you had to see that!", Fluttershy apologized as soon as she regained herself. "I just don't know what got over me! Angel got hurt, and I…and I…"

"If anybody hurts your friends, they're gonna get it, right?", Tychophon guessed. "And these Unversed certainly got what was coming to them. Especially with that crystal Chronicle gave you. I could see another reason why he chose Wind as your element; one can never know when it'll go crazy."

Suddenly, more Unversed appeared, surrounding us. The three of us gathered together, our backs to each other. "Leave the fighting to us, Fluttershy.", I found myself saying, partly out of concern, and partly out of fear. "You just blow them about when they get close, 'kay?" The yellow pegasus nodded her head as she put the resting Angel on her back.

KHKHKHKHKH

Elsewhere in the Everfree Forest…

Twilight Sparkle was leading Kairi through the woods, both of them in a hurry. Both made certain not to touch the blue flowers known as the "poison joke". When Kairi asked what it does, Twilight assured her that she doesn't want to know. When Kairi insisted, saying she's been through a lot in her adventures, Twilight conceded and explained. At the end of the explanation, Kairi was at slight giggles, especially with the "Flutterguy" and Chronicle falling for her.

Just then, they heard the sound of fighting. Quickly, they picked up the pace. Eventually, they reached the battle. There were a number of Bruisers, Thornbites, and a few Suicorns surrounding what looked like a pony with a white-and-black stripes. Were I here, I would've identified it as a zebra. This zebra had turquoise eyes, a gold left earring, gold rings on the neck and left foreleg, and a 'spiral sun' marking on the flank where a pony's cutie mark would be.

"Zecora!", Twilight called, a Blizzara spell on the ready.

The zebra turned her head in response, a knife between her teeth. "Quick! Close the distance!", she said. "I need some assistance!" Zecora then jumped from the arm whips of the Thornbites. Kairi and Twilight quickly did as she requested, both of them taking down the Unversed with spells, and the former with the Keyblade in her tail.

"Hey, that's rhymes.", mused Kairi as she followed up with Light spells, Twilight following. Both of them have been learning each other's magic, although Kairi wasn't sure if she could implement them in her normal human form, especially the teleportation.

"Zecora has a tendency of speaking like that.", said Twilight as she hurled a ball of light at an Archraven about to attack said zebra, who bucked a Bruiser at the side, then sliced at it with her knife.

"Why are we having a conversation in the middle of a fight?" Kairi aimed the Destiny's Embrace at a Thornbite and shot a Thunder spell.

"You must be rubbing in to me." Twilight conjured a thundercloud that then brought down lightning bolts on all the Unversed, only for them to be directed at just the Suicorns.

"I must've gotten it from Sora and Rael." Kairi dodged a Suicorn's charge, striking it with her Keyblade as it passed her.

"I can't believe the nerve of whoever made these kinds of Unversed!" Twilight seemed to be taking down the Suicorns with more prejudice than any of the other Unversed. "Seriously! Alicorns? As far as I'm concerned—"

"If you two are done talking, could you focus on fighting?", Zecora interrupted as she landed her forelegs on a weakened Bruiser, then drove her knife into it, destroying the Unversed.

The two unicorns turned to each other with a nervous giggle, then decided to focus on the battle.

KHKHKHKHKH

Meanwhile…

Ponyville wasn't the only place under attack by the Unversed. The far-off unicorn city of Canterlot was also a victim of the invasion. And the populace were being escorted to safety as the white pegasus and black unicorn royal guards repelled the invaders. While the Princesses were advised that they stay at the palace, they were out with the guards, showing the Unversed just how powerful they really were and why they should not mess with the rulers of Equestria.

The first alicorn, Princess Celestia, had a pinkish white coat, great angelic wings, a long unicorn horn, and a very tall stature. Her mane and tail were in colors of cyan, turquiose, azure, and purple, and they flowed in a non-existent wind. Her eyes were magenta, there were golden markings on her hooves, she wore a tiara and necklace, and her cutie mark depicted the shining sun.

The second, Princess Luna, had a dark blue coat, smaller feathered wings, a unicorn horn shorter than her sister's, and a somewhat shorter stature, though still taller than the average pony. Her mane and tail were colored like the night sky and also flowed like there was wind blowing it. Her eyes were teal, there were midnight blue markings on her hooves, a little black tiara on her head, and her cutie mark depicted a white crescent moon in front of a black splotch of night sky.

"What could the summoners of these things be possibly thinking?", Luna wondered out loud as she manifested storm clouds that made their way into the Unversed, sucked them in, and destroyed them from the inside. "Attacking the city of Canterlot where we the Princesses reside. If this is an invasion force, then clearly the summoners are out of their minds." She then turned to her elder sister. "What do you think, Tia?"

Celestia was busy fending off a number of Unversed, including some Suicorns, which mildly irked her at the sight of them. After blasting them with a beam of light, she then noticed Luna ask her and turned her head. "Now that you mention it…" She turned to one of the pegasus royal guards, one who was of higher rank than those who are usually assigned as her bodyguards, and called for his attention. She then told him to report on the current situation.

"We're slowly having the situation under control, your Majesty.", he said. "However, these blue monsters have been progressing in strength."

"What's the status of the neighboring villages?"

"I'll take a look!" With that, he took off to the skies, dodging a couple of Archravens along the way. Below, the rest of the royal guard (alongside the Princesses) did their part in removing the Unversed from Canterlot.

One pegasus guard was sent back by a Glidewinder, only to quickly recover and rush at the Unversed, sending it twirling before being struck again by the guard, dissipating into dark flames.

Another pegasus guard flew in a low altitude, utilizing his innate pegasus magic to generate a razor wind in his wings to cut through the Red Hot Chilis, Blue Seas Salts, and Yellow Mustards that were in his way.

One unicorn guard leaped over a Tank Toppler, hopping off its head, quickly turned around, and shot a bolt of magic from his horn, which hit the Unversed in the back. He was then hit by a Bruiser from behind before it was pounced by a pegasus comrade.

A few Suicorns foolishly charged Luna—and paid the price as a storm cloud from her swallowed them up and shocked them to oblivion. A couple of Bruisers rushed at her from behind, only for her to jump over them and bring down another storm cloud on them, bringing down on them the same fate the Suicorns suffered.

A couple of Scrappers jumped from a window and were about to land on Celestia when they were held fast in a yellow aura from her. She then flung them down to the ground, where they dissipated on impact.

Just then, the pegasus guard Celestia had called earlier returned. "Cloudsdale's safe for now.", he reported. "And so are most of the other towns. However, for some reason, Ponyville seems to be under the same predicament as Canterlot." Princess Celestia seemed to realize something, but the guard noticed only her lack of a reply. "Is there a problem, your highness?"

"I'm fine.", Celestia assured. "You carry on in your duty." After straightening in attention, the pegasus guard took off to continue helping purge the Unversed from Canterlot. _Oh no. Twilight Sparkle. I hope she's okay. _Just then, there was a crash. Both Princesses turned to see a large Unversed joining in the invasion. Were any of us in the area, we would've identified it as the Trinity Armor. (10)

"I believe our assistance would be of great help there.", Luna suggested, shaking Celestia off her thoughts. "The guards don't seem to be faring too well." Sure enough, even with lots of pegasus and unicorn guards attacking, the Trinity Armor proved rather difficult for them as it blasted lasers, shot energy balls, threw punches, and loads of other attacks from its three parts. Nodding to her younger sister, Celestia took flight and charged together with Luna as two more Trinity Armors came into their view.

Part VI. The Elements of Discord

Back at Ponyville…

"Well, that's all of them, I think." Tychophon, Fluttershy, and I were on our way back to Ponyville, with Angel left behind at the cottage to rest.

"Whew.", I said as I wiped my forehead. "Clearing a town sure is hard work, even if the local populace are capable of defending themselves. (11) Also, in those other worlds with towns I've been to so far, their streets were always empty."

"If I remember correctly from what your Meridell friends have told us, that was just Agrabah, Halloween Town, and Port Royal.", Tychophon argued.

"Oh right. Radiant Garden has a considerable defense force. And so does Twilight Town, which only has Nobodies to worry about."

"Nobodies?", asked Fluttershy.

"Another 'species' of bad guys we take on in our travels, although some are more sympathethic than most. And we won't be calling them Noponies in Equestria."

"Now where did that come from?", my Shoyru asked me. All of a sudden, our pegasus pony friend seemed to have experienced a mental 'attack', for she placed a hoof on her head and cringed in pain. "Uh oh! What's wrong?"

"I feel…like we need to go somewhere.", said the pink-maned pegasus.

"Lead the way."

"Call me crazy, but I have a feeling we're gonna run into those six mares we saw.", I said.

"Is one of them a black pegasus with a rainbow mane?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Had the same feeling too."

KHKHKHKHKH

Back at the Everfree Forest…

The three equines managed to destroy all the Unversed in the area and were inside Zecora's hut for a short break.

"If I may be so polite, who is this stranger by your side?", the zebra asked Twilight.

"This is Kairi. She and her friends are helping us take out these Unversed—as they call them—that have attacked Ponyville."

"Once we find whoever summoned them, Euqestria will be safe once more.", said Kairi. "I just hope nobody thinks us as the cause."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, they only came sometime after **our** arrival." Suddenly, Twilight clutched her head with one hoof as if having got a migraine. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. But I'm getting a feeling that something's leading me somewhere. Somewhere that's—"

"I have a hunch on what that feeling is.", interrupted Kairi. "Let's go there."

With that, they thanked Zecora as they made their way out of her hut and the Everfree Forest.

"Good luck!", the zebra called out as they ran. (12)

KHKHKHKHKH

Back in Ponyville proper…

"I hate these Suicorns!", Jerry complained as he and Rainbow Dash took down the last Suicorn they could see for miles.

"Why'd you even call them that?", asked Rainbow Dash.

"I dunno. Just a spur of the moment, I guess." Suddenly, the cyan pegasus seemed to experience a headache. "Rainbow Dash! Are you okay?"

"Yeah. But I think I know who caused this! And I'm gonna get 'em for it!" With that, Rainbow Dash took off, leaving a seven-colored streak. Jerry quickly followed as fast as he could.

"Hey! Wait for me!", he futilely called.

KHKHKHKHKH

Inside Sugarcube Corner…

"I think it's best you don't go doing that again." Sugarcube Corner was a mess, thanks to the water tornado and the Unversed, and Lea was scolding Pinkie Pie about it. "Even in our wildest, we do little damage to our surroudings when we fight. Then again, none of us ever battled in a bakery before."

Suddenly, the pink earth pony's body began to shudder completely. "Uh-oh!", she said, her voice shaking. "There's gonna be a doozy!"

"A doozy?", Lea was confused.

"And I know just the place!" Pinkie then stopped shaking. "Grab on to me and hold on like your life depends on it!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!" All of a sudden, Pinkie appeared right below Lea in such a way that he was now on her back.

"Whoa! How did you—" Before he could speak any further, she was off in a pink streak, and so fast that Lea literally had to hold on for dear life.

KHKHKHKHKH

In another part of Ponyville…

After taking Snips and Snails to a house that was safe from the Unversed, Wizard, Spike, and Rarity walked down the near empty streets, with only the occasional Flood, which Wizard shot down, and the occasional pony interacting with the Unversed, which meant either running or taking them down themselves.

"Okay.", the white earth pony said. "Just a few more until Ponyville's perfectly safe." Suddenly, he heard a scream, then the sound of fainting. He quickly turned around to see that Rarity had fainted, with Spike cradling her head and calling her name over and over in concern. Seconds later, the unicorn got up, much to the dragon's relief. "What's just happened?", Wizard asked.

"Oh, I just had the most horrible vision!", Rarity explained in a melodramatic manner.

"What? What is it?", Spike wanted to know.

"I feel like we have to go somewhere. And only I seem to know where to go."

"Takes us there.", told Wizard. "I think I know what's gonna happen next."

KHKHKHKHKH

At Sweet Apple Acres…

Sora, Applejack, Big Macintosh, and Chronicle (after seeing to Granny Smith's safety and leaving Winona, Caramel, and Noteworthy with her) managed to wipe out the last of the Unversed in the farm.

"I hope that's all of them.", said Sora.

"Eeyup.", agreed Big Macintosh. "That's all of 'em, all right."

"Thank goodness.", Applejack sighed in relief. "For a minute, I thought we'd never be fi—Aaaagh!" Suddenly, she stopped as she put a hoof on her head and cringed as if in pain.

"Is something wrong, Applejack?", asked Chronicle as he then pulled out a rectangular screen of some kind out of nowhere.

"Yeah. I feel like I'm supposed to go somewhere."

"You're not the only one." The blue unicorn then showed his screen to her and Sora. The screen showed various images of the rest of us and the other E.O.H. keepers running (or flying) with a purpose. "Apparently, the other keepers experienced the same thing."

"How do you know?", Sora wanted to know.

"Ever since they began to wield the Elements, I've had magic cameras up watching my friends and recording what they do." Sora widened his eyes at the idea, plenty of indecent thoughts in his head, which Chronicle noticed as he changed his tone. "But I'm not a pervert! It's not like ponies normally wear clothes anyway! Now let's go!"

KHKHKHKHKH

Elsewhere…

Twilight Sparkle and Kairi were on a road the former knew led to the far-off town of Canterlot. Just then, they saw my group come over and join them.

"Rael! Tychophon!", Kairi called.

"Fluttershy!", Twilight called.

"Kairi!", I called back as I slowed to a stop and put away my hover scooter. "Twilight!"

Seconds later, we heard something come from behind. We stopped and turned to see a rainbow streak headed our way.

"Rainbow Dash!", Fluttershy called.

The streak slowed down to reveal that it was indeed her. Jerry caught up a few seconds later, totally winded, now trotting on the ground.

"Wow!", said Jerry between wheezes. "You…sure…are…fast!"

Then, a pink streak bypassed him, making the purple pegasus spin around. The streak then stopped to reveal Pinkie Pie…with a dizzy Lea on her back, who was doing his best not to vomit.

"Oh, hi there, friends!", said Pinkie as Lea dropped off of her. "Why are we all gathered here?"

Just after the finished her sentence, there was a flash. In an instant, Chronicle, Sora, Wizard, Applejack, Rarity, and Spike were with us, the former having teleported them all.

"My head's spinning from all these sudden arrivals!", I began to complain.

"Apparently, the author couldn't think of a better idea to get us all together in short order!", Pinkie commented.

"Pinkie!", Chronicle immediately scolded. "What did I tell you about the fourth wall?"

Pinkie immediately scowled. "To not break it." (13) She then went back to her usual happy expression.

"What's this about a fourth wall and an author?", asked Sora.

"About time you came.", we heard a voice echo.

The fifteen of us (the E.O.H. keepers, Chronicle, Spike, and Sora and co.) clustered together, our backs to each other, wary that the speaker may come out at any direction. And indeed they came out. One by one, they came into view, seemingly surrounding us. It was the six mares we saw earlier during the Unversed attack in Ponyville.

"Ahh. The keepers of the Elements of Harmony.", spoke the black unicorn. "I was hoping it would just be the six of them coming here, and I would've tolerated their dragon friend and stallion-who-looks-like-a-mare-at-first-sight." Chronicle frowned at the insult clearly directed at him. "But I should've known from your new acquaintances that they'd be coming as well."

"Well, if your plans are of taking over this world, of course we're gonna put a stop to you!", Sora replied. "Especially if Unversed, Nobodies, or Heartless are involved." He turned to the E.O.H. keepers and Spike, who were confused. "Nobodies and Heartless are other minions employed by the bad guys we deal with in our travels." During this whole conversation, I took out a few Elixirs from my bag an shared them to everyone. I just knew we were gonna have a battle in our hands (and hooves).

"Who are you?", Chronicle demanded as he was offered an Elixir. "What business have you with us?"

"Well…we have been selected by the draconequus Discord to wield his spin on the Elements.", said the purple unicorn in a manner somewhat classier than Rarity's.

"Let me guess…they're called the Elements of Discord." He drank from the bottle.

"A rather unimaginative guess.", snarked the crimson pegasus in a gruff tone. "Although I suspect anypony who knows of the Elements of Harmony would be able to come up with that name."

"Unfortunately, we aren't as tight-knit a bunch as the rest of you.", said the black pegasus as she pointed a hoof the E.O.H. keepers. "I even plan on leaving after all this."

"Only our common motive in freeing Discord once more is what keeps us together.", said the earth pony with the cap. "Although I'll admit we **might** fall apart any minute now, so we're gonna cut to the chase. I'm Fungus Amongus, representing Deceit." Immediately, Applejack scowled.

"I am Jewel.", said the purple unicorn. "Representing Avarice." Rarity made a loud gulp after she took her share of my Elixirs.

"Bluebird.", said the steel blue earth pony, although it was difficult to hear. The black unicorn then seemed to cast some magic and the earth pony spoke again. "Bluebird. I represent Despair." Pinkie Pie looked away, as if ashamed or something.

"Warmonger's my name!", said the crimson pegasus wih pride. "I represent Malice!" Fluttershy immediately cringed in fright.

"I am Black Rainbow!", cried out the black pegasus. "I represent Betrayal!" Rainbow Dash sneered at her.

"And I'm Midnight Shadow.", declared the black unicorn. "And I wield the element of Curse." Twilight Sparkle felt…wrong somehow and frowned. "So, now that we're getting to know each other better…" Midnight's horn then glowed with dark energy and so did the rest of what I decided to dub the E.O.D. wielders.

"Now didn't I mention that line sometime before?", Lea mused as we all prepared for battle, rejuvenated thanks to my Elixirs.

"…it's time for the 'Divide and Conquer', girls!'"

"Oh yeah!", said Warmonger.

"Ha-ha!" Black.

"Joy." Bluebird.

"Let's do it!" Fungus.

"Okay!" Jewel.

Immediately, the earth underneath them cracked as light erupted from them, which converged right for our location. As none of us thought we could stop it, we all split up in a state of panic. When I got up, I saw that the light has extended upwards as far as the eye could see, effectively separating us from the rest. I then looked around to see that I was with Tychophon and Applejack, and we were confronting Fungus. Immediately, I saw flashes of what I assumed was the others. I also immediately knew it was from Wizard using his "Shared Sense" powers. (14) In addition to seeing the images, I also knew who was seeing them.

From the information I got, these were what I realized was happening: Rarity and Jerry were about to fight Jewel. Chronicle, Pinkie, and Wizard faced off against Bluebird. Rainbow Dash and Lea faced Black Rainbow. Sora was up against Warmonger, with only Fluttershy as his support. As for Twilight and Kairi, Spike was now with them as they faced Midnight.

"Now comes part two of the spell!", the cap-wearing pony said as I turned my attention back to her. The ground began to glow underneath us and shine brightly. Presumably, the same thing was happening to the rest of our allies.

KHKHKHKHKH

"Hey! I remember this place!"

Twilight, Spike, Kairi, and Midnight were now in a place that was familiar to the former two. It was the library in where she lived before moving to Ponyville. (15)

"Bring back memories, Twilight Sparkle?", asked Midnight in a rather suggestive manner. "Back then, you were very antisocial, with just Spike and Chronicle as your companions, the latter only with you under a contract as your bodyguard."

"Just how do you know all this?", demanded Spike.

"Being the wielders of the Elements of Discord, we are able to read the minds of our opponents. But don't worry. We can only look into your fairly distant past, so no probing for battle strategies for us." Midnight's opponents just frowned, obviously not trusting her as her horn glowed a sinister yellow. "Although, whether you trust me or not is your choice, of course."

KHKHKHKHKH

"That's because we aren't really at Cloudsdale.", Black Rainbow was saying to her opponents. "This is just an illusion manifested by Midnight Shadow's spell." Rainbow Dash (who had asked Black Rainbow) and Lea confronted the wielder of the Element of Betrayal in what looked like a town square, only there were plenty of clouds in place of the buildings and the ground. Black then looked at Lea. "Now hold on a second. Looks like this fight is gonna be interesting."

"What do you mean by that?", asked Dash.

"Not only am I gonna face the keeper of the Element of Loyalty, I'm also gonna face someone who was a traitorous doublecrosser in a previous life. Constantly switching sides for the sake of a friend, even if it's not with his consent, and even he switched out one for another."

Lea said nothing as Dash turned to face him. "Wait! What did she mean by previous life?" The red unicorn refused to answer.

"As a wielder of an Element of Discord, we can look into our opponents' past.", answered Black as she prepared to take off in a charge. "But enough of that. Let's get started."

KHKHKHKHKH

"Do you really think you can defeat me?"

Warmonger confronted Sora and Fluttershy in a forest below a large cloud, which the latter remembered as the pegasus city of Cloudsdale.

"That line's clichéd.", scoffed Sora. "And I've beaten baddies much tougher than you."

"True, but did you have to face them alone?", Warmonger countered. "You've had friends watching your back during those times, especially that boy with the shield. You can be stupid at times, but never when your enemy tries to fool you? Just how do you do it?"

"You know, I never given it much thought."

Warmonger raised an eyebrow in confusion, then resumed her usual frowning. Next, she immediately rushed at Sora, who brought up his Keyblade to defend. However, she proved much stronger than expected, pouncing Sora, bypassing Fluttershy, and crashing the Keyblade master into a tree.

KHKHKHKHKH

"You puzzle me, Jerry.", said Jewel as she manifested three crystals, which were currently shooting beams of light as her horn glowed green. "You're a thief, yet you keep little for yourself?"

Jewel, Jerry, and Rarity were in an area in the rocky mountains, which the latter seemed to be familiar with, having been here before.

"Just what does she mean, dear?", asked Rarity as she manifested a barrier and countered with fireballs, which were deflected with a barrier from Jewel.

"I have a Robin Hood-like lifestyle.", explained Jerry as he deflected some of the lasers with his sabers. He had received some serious hits from Jewel's crystals and was on the defensive. "'Steal from the rich, give to the poor' and all that. Although the poor I give to is just the orphanage. Also, I don't really have a desire for power. Such thoughts have strictly been purged from my mind. That means you can't tempt me, Jewel."

"I don't plan on tempting you.", said Jewel as one of her crystals stopped shooting lasers and started to shoot a beam at the ground, shaking it. Immediately, Jerry took Rarity in his forelegs (would say arms but ponies don't have them) and carried both of them up, the white unicorn gasping in fright and surprise, as cracks began to form in the ground and release beams of light and ejected crystals.

KHKHKHKHKH

"Hold on a second.", said Wizard. "Why don't you have a cutie mark?"

He, Bluebird, Chronicle, and Pinkie Pie were in what the latter remembered as the Pie Rock Farm in which she spent her early fillyhood in. The sky was also dim and cloudy.

"Yeah. About that.", lamented Bluebird. "I never really found out my purpose in life. And I don't think I ever will." Pinkie was about to speak when Bluebird raised a hoof in refusal. "And don't bother trying to cheer me up. That never works."

"Just why are you with the Elements of Discord anyway?", Pinkie asked.

"I represent Despair. I want to release Discord so he can remove cutie marks altogether." There was a trace of anger in Bluebird's voice. "I want them to feel the despair I have felt over the years, mocking me and calling me 'Blank Flank'."

"Okay.", said Wizard. "Now that's the lamest reason I've ever heard."

"Not that Discord would stop there.", Chronicle reminded, then turned to Bluebird. "You know, we know some fillies who've had the same dilemma as you. But I have a feeling we'll have to beat you up first before we could convince you."

"So…you think defeat means friendship?", snarked the white earth pony.

"Worked once with the Elements of Harmony. We did in Nightmare Moon with them, although for Discord the best they could do was reseal him."

"You can't hurt me.", cut in Bluebird. "I've been hurt too much already."

"Okay. Now I think this pony's off her rocker.", Wizard stated as he aimed his GunDeLuna and fired at Bluebird, who didn't so much as dodge. The beams of light hit her, but for some reason, she didn't get hurt. However, Wizard felt a few stings similar to when he got hit by my DirLuxGun. "Hey. That hurts."

Chronicle then rushed at Bluebird, his 'magic horn blade' ready and aimed at the blue earth pony. Just before reaching her, he teleported so that he was behind her, and then slashed. The move ended with him in front of her…and he stumbled over in pain. "Oww.", the unicorn complained. "It's like I just attacked myself."

"Uh oh!", Pinkie gasped. "It's like zero-seven-three of that Foundation that contains all that anomalous stuff!" (16)

"What did I tell you about the fourth wall?"

"Oh, sorry."

All the while, Bluebird just stood there, a slight smirk on her face. "So, what are you gonna do?", she taunted. "Unless I'm defeated, you cannot leave. And anything you do to me just gets back to you."

KHKHKHKHKH

"Ooh. Looks like I'll also be fighting a liar.", Fungus remarked.

Applejack, Tychophon, and I were facing Fungus in what looked like to me an urban city. The former recognized the place to be Manehattan, where she spent a portion of her fillyhood in. Fungus was spawning mushrooms, most of them dangerous.

"What the hay is she talkin' about?", Applejack asked me.

"While lying almost comes naturally to me, I'm more on the 'not tell the truth' type."

"You liar.", replied Fungus as she picked up a(n explosive) mushroom and hurled it at us, which was shot down by Tychophon. "You lie pretty much all the time."

"I do not!", I retorted as Applejack put up a wall of earth (well, concrete) that stopped another mushroom. "You must be talking about another."

"No. I'm pretty sure you are a consummate liar." Fungus continued to pluck and hurl mushrooms, eventually breaking Applejack's wall.

"Now I don't even know what that means." I then shot at the projectiles, which exploded in a spectacular manner, but when the smoke cleared, we couldn't see Fungus.

"Yes you do." We turned to see her to our right, riding a big dragon seemingly made out of mushrooms. "You know what it means."

"Now I know that's a lie." The three of us backed away, readying our means of attack.

"Why are you even arguing with her anyway?", Tychophon asked me. "She represents Deceit. Of course she would lie."

"And unlike my corrupted self, I'm sure she'll also sometimes tell the truth, twist it, or tell half of it.", Applejack added.

"Oh, so you're an expert on lies now?", teased Fungus as her giant mount reared its head to let out a breath of poisonous fumes. I immediately cast shield-style Aero (the other being blow away-style) to keep out the fumes and Tychophon used his wind abilities to strengthen it.

KHKHKHKHKH

Midnight was casting dark ice-elemental spells at Kairi, Twilight, and Spike, who were countering with fire attacks.

"You don't have what it takes to defeat me.", Midnight taunted as she then slammed her hooves on the ground and covered it with a layer of ice.

"You don't know that!", Spike countered as he unleashed a fire breath, melting some of the ice and hitting Midnight, who put up a barrier. "Twilight's the best unicorn there is when it comes to magic!"

"We'll see about that." Midnight then shot a beam of darkness at the dragon, only for it to be countered by a Light spell from Kairi. Midnight turned to the pink unicorn. "You're not cut out for this, Keyblade wielder. You're nothing compared to your friends."

"That may be the case.", Kairi argued as she prepared a unicorn spell. "But I'm not gonna let that stop me."

"Well, maybe **I** should be the one to stop you then." Midnight prepared another spell.

"Not if I can help it!", Twilight countered as she also prepared to cast a spell.

"Don't you think I'm sitting this one out!", added Spike as he prepared to breathe fire again.

Four things happened at once. Midnight unleashed a vortex of dark energy, Twilight fired a beam of luminous energy to counter it, Spike bolstered it with his fire breath, and Kairi…teleported. Three seconds later, as the beams pushed one another, she reappeared behind Midnight to attack her, only for the black unicorn to teleport away, resulting in Twilight's beam hitting Kairi. Midnight then reappeared behind the bearer of her Element's counterpart, only for Spike to turn in time and rush at her. At that same second, Twilight then realized that her beam was not countering Midnight's, stopped casting, and turned around to see Midnight 'toss' Spike right at her, resulting in the two sliding in the ice and bumping into Kairi, who had been pushed a fair distance away from the beam. Midnight then teleported to their location.

"I'll admit, you almost got me there.", said the black unicorn. "But you're gonna have to do better."

KHKHKHKHKH

Lea was getting confused and disoriented from the two rainbow trails around him. One was a horizontal seven-colored streak (Rainbow Dash), and the other was a line of multicolored rings (Black Rainbow). In occasion, Black rushed at him (of course he wouldn't know it until it was too late), but Dash always tackled her out of the way. As it was, Black was stronger than Dash, who in turn was faster than her. Lea could barely do a thing to help, not without doing any accidental friendly fire. Even though the two rainbow-maned pegasi's streaks were clearly different, the colors alone made it hard for him to distinguish comrade from adversary.

Eventually, he decided to just shield himself with his chakrams and fire, even if his element didn't exactly excel in defense. He could only hope that Dash doesn't end up hitting him. _I mean, it's not like I look like her enemy, right?_, he added to himself.

Suddenly, Black rushed at Lea once again, quickly getting through the measly ring he called his defense, getting a slight scratch from one of his chakrams, and pouncing him before he knew what hit him. A second later, Dash got her again, knocking her off of him, and the two began to roll along the 'clouds'.

Part VII. Turning The Tides

Sora was sent flying to a tree again. _Man, she's strong!_, he thought as he got up and continued to dodge Warmonger's relentless attacks and keep Fluttershy away from her (not knowing just what she is really capable of). _Just why do I feel so weak, even after taking that Mark of Mastery Exam? Did that Suvio Permi back at Ant Island have any lingering eff— _His thoughts were interrupted as the red pegasus managed to get him. He tried to cast a spell, but Warmonger knocked the Keyblade off his teeth. For some reason, in his current form of an earth pony, he can't cast magic without it.

"You may have defeated foes tougher than I am before, but in this form, in this world, against me, by yourself, you're nothing!", Warmonger said as she pushed her forehooves at Sora's neck, preventing him from focusing enough to call back his Keyblade.

"Once again, that line's clichéd.", Sora managed to sputter.

"Still able to sputter jokes on the verge of defeat? Maybe you got a concussion from all those trees I slammed you through." Neither of them noticed that all the while, Fluttershy had been following them the best she could, and was watching all this. "Once I'm through with you, I'm gonna enjoy torturing that bearer of my Element's 'good' counterpart. She looks so helpless, I'm gonna enjoy breaking her. I just love hearing the cries of my pitiful victi—"

She was cut off by Fluttershy, who had managed to bring up her courage, and pounce Warmonger. The two pegasi rolled across the ground.

"You big, dumb **meanie**!", the usually sweet pegasus yelled as she punched the savage pegasus in the face over and over. Warmonger then kicked Fluttershy upwards in the air, then charged after her, only to be swiftly grabbed and hurled back down on the ground. As Warmonger crashed and left a crater in her wake, her opponent then slammed down on her, resulting in further damage. For some reason, the super strength she had…diminished whenever the keeper of the Element of Kindness was in close proximity. Still, she was strong in spite of the loss.

She had to get away. After kicking Fluttershy off of her, Warmonger flew upwards to Cloudsdale, only to collide into the city's base like it was a ceiling. She then remembered that this place was an illusion, and that it had 'boundaries'. Just then, Fluttershy reached her and slammed her into the 'ceiling'. Below, Sora watched in awe, unable to believe what he was seeing, having not witnessed what Tychophon and I had witnessed back at the cottage.

KHKHKHKHKH

Jerry continued to fly Rarity across the ravaged field caused by Jewel's magic crystals, which have seemingly gone rampant, the cracks in the earth continuing to spew out crystals. The white unicorn claimed to never have seen this level of magic, and she voiced that perhaps only the princesses could accomplish this (else, Discord). Jerry replied that perhaps the crystals with Jewel were what made this level of magic possible, just like with the crystals Chronicle gave her and the other E.O.H. keepers.

Just then, one crystal from the ground hit Jerry on the back and the two started to fall, headed close to Jewel. The purple unicorn didn't move as the two crashed close to her position, kicking up some dust. Some of the dust hit Jewel, and she looked rather freaked out. Jerry managed to see this, and had an idea. Getting off of Rarity, who was still slightly dazed, he began to kick up more dust by flapping his wings, directing them right at Jewel, who freaked out more and used a spell to block off the dust. This diminished her focus as the cracks in the earth began to seal up and crystals no longer shot out from the closing cracks.

"Stay back!", she panicked. "You will not mess up my coat!"

"Why?", replied Rarity as she got up and joined Jerry, an angry smirk on her face. "Afraid to get dirty?" She didn't wait for an answer and proceeded to shoot fireballs at Jewel, who cast a barrier. As Jerry continued to kick up dust, he also 'called up' his sabers and had them attack. Jewel was now completely on the defensive.

KHKHKHKHKH

After a couple of 'experimenting', Wizard and the others have discovered something that gave them the advantage in their battle aginst Bluebird. For some reason, whenever the blue earth pony was at close proximity to Pinkie Pie, or was encased in water manifested by the pink earth pony, her pain-reflecting powers were nullified.

Bluebird was currently encased in a water bubble by Pinkie, although her head was left open for Wizard and Chronicle to attack with shots and magic shurikens. They both felt bad on having to take down their opponent is such a torturous manner, but it was the only way for them to get out of here.

Just then, as Wizard and Chronicle took a short rest before attacking again, Bluebird let out a long chuckle. Her three opponents paused as the did.

"You…You just managed to make me angry.", she said. "Only a few have managed to do that. And none of them have escaped my wrath!" She seemed to well up a lot of emotion inside her, which somehow disturbed the water that held her, then she let out a blood-curdling scream. In an instant, her normally flat hair suddenly became poofed up and spiky. Her entire body also became a shade brighter and her expression changed from gloomy to crazed.

Wizard and Chronicle were completely surprised and scared. While this didn't scare Pinkie somehow, she was more surprised than anypony else and her gasp was much louder than the others, even Chronicle's (who screamed like a little filly).

"Okay! Now this is the second pony I've seen with a expressive mane!", said Chronicle as Pinkie dropped the water holding Bluebird.

"Who's the first?", Wizard asked, doing his best not to quiver in his hooves.

"Pinkie Pie. Her mane isn't always as poofy as you see right now. When she gets utterly depressed, it goes straight and she becomes dimmer."

"How'd you know about that?", asked Pinkie.

"From Spike.", the blue unicorn answered as he turned to her. "After you interrogated him, or so he claims. Also, you did tell me and the Crusaders about how 'Equestria was made'."

"Hey, losers!" Everypony turned back to Bluebird, who was now somehow twice her usual size. "Perpare to enter a world of hurt!" She then rushed at them, plowing them all aside. As she bypassed them, Wizard quickly retaliated with a few shots from the GunDeLuna, but upon impact, he received the pain.

"Darn it!", the white earth pony cried out. "Her powers are in effect again!"

"We'll have to get Pinkie on Bluebird somehow!", said Chronicle as he and the others got up.

"I can do that!", said Pinkie, still ready to help out.

"Not without a plan." The three of them dodged Bluebird again as she charged them. "She ain't gonna let you get on her as simple as that, if you know what I mean."

KHKHKHKHKH

Applejack, Tychophon, and I fled down the streets of 'illusion' Manehattan as Fungus followed on her 'mushroom dragon', wreaking havoc in the (empty) place, although the usual stand was upturned.

"Equestria's technology level sure is strange, huh?", Tychophon remarked as we turned to an alley.

"Is this really the time?", I retorted.

"You can't hide from me!", we heard Fungus say as small ponies out of mushrooms spawned from the ground, ready to attack.

"Hold on!" Applejack said as she then brought her forehooves up, then down on the ground. Immediately, as Tychophon and I shot down some of these monsrosities, the earth underneath us rose and we then hopped off it and onto a rooftop. We confronted Fungus, who was on the head of her 'mushroom dragon'.

"Ah, there you are.", she said. "I was so worried about you."

"Sincere or sarcastic?", I found myself saying.

"Don't even bother.", Tychophon retorted as Applejack shot spikes of earth from the pillar she used to raise us up. Fungus's dragon let out a breath of fumes and corroded them before they could reach it.

"Earth spikes?", Fungus taunted. "That's the best you can do, right?"

_Oh, I wish Fiorina was with me right now._, I found myself thinking. Just then, I experienced a flashback.

I was remembering the time when I woke up in Destiny Islands and first met her in person (as a human), then I was remembering her waking upin Hollow Bastion just as we rescued her and Kairi, then of fighting alongside her and Sora as we took down Stickee and Ansem, then our 'reawakening' in Twilight Town where I first saw her true form up close, then on driving that glider with her and Wizard on either side of me.

Then, I suddenly returned to reality as I felt something shine in my bag. As Tychophon and Applejack continued to fend off Fungus's attacks, I reached for whatever was shining and took it out. I saw that it was a triangular pendant with three symbols. The first was the Pokéball symbol, the second was a black star in front of a white square, and the third was a hunny pot.

_This is the pendant No. 7 of the Mushrooms XIII gave us back in the World That Never Was._, I thought as I decided to put it on. Just as I did that, I felt power course through my body, my strength returning, and more memories of my time with Fiorina. _I wonder…is this the power of the D-Link King Mickey was talking about?_

Suddenly, I found myself in the air. I looked down to see that I was flapping my wings and flying. And for some reason, I wasn't afraid. _Wow! Looks like it. _I then instinctively put up a shield of air to block from a fume breath Fungus's dragon made. I then found myself rushing at the purple earth pony. Her dragon reared up its head to bite me, but I then found myself screeching, which sent its head further back, also knocking off Fungus. As she slid down the dragon's back, and as my comrades started to deal with it, I shot at her, but kept missing. I decided to just 'screw it' and dive right at her. As I did, I seemed to be about to perform Solar Saber, but the 'blade' was shorter. As I reached Fungus, I swung the 'blade' at her, resulting in a minor searing cut as she stopped.

I winced for a bit, wondering whether the Barrier Jacket phenomenon was still in effect or not. Then, I realized that perhaps it wasn't as I recalled the time when Xozict had scratched Sora with his poisonous halberd back at Ant Island. When we took him back to the Falcon, the scar he got remained in spite of his changed form. Of course, that scar has since healed.

Just then, Fungus pounced on me, but I immediately ascended, then glared at her, which somehow stunned her as well as hit her with Fire. I then swooped down on her and—for some reason—started jabbing her with the DirLuxGun as a short stub of light protruded from it. As I did that, the dragon seemed to fall apart as its mistress lost focus. This was enough for Tychophon and Applejack to deliver a finishing blow.

As the dragon quickly crumbled to nothing, Fungus fell and I dismissed my weapons and swooped down to grab her. However, she called up a mushroom to break her fall, and I decided to recall my weapons and back away. Fungus landed on the mushroom and crashed through it, smashing through it, but it did break her fall. While I landed on the ground as well, I looked back to see Tychophon carry Applejack down. I then turned back to Fungus, who lazily got up from the ruins of her mushroom, and shook her head.

"I think I know her weakness.", Applejack voiced.

"Hmm?", I asked without turning.

KHKHKHKHKH

Midnight cast another spell and knocked Kairi, Twilight, and Spike into the wall. Kairi was the first to get up, but the other two were too tired to do that or even open their eyes.

"You just don't know when to give up, do you?", sneered Midnight—moderately winded—as she prepared to cast a spell to finish them off. Kairi didn't answer as she moved the Keyblade with telekinesis. "Any last words?" Kairi remained silent. "Oh well. Nice knowin' ya." Midnight began to gather dark energy, ready to uterly obliterate her enemy. While some might say it's overkill, she prefers to think of it as being thorough.

As she watched Midnight prepare for her attack, Kairi gulped in slight nervousness. Her allies were down for the count, and while Midnight was quite tired too, Kairi wasn't looking too good either. As the darkness gathered, she immediately thought about Riku.

Suddenly, her mind flashed back to her childhood days with him and Sora on the islands, then to him holding off Xehanort's Heartless back at Hollow Bastion after he took over his body, then to seeing him (and Wizard) again as she pulled back the former's hood, revealing the face of Xehanort's Heartless, then to the two of them fighting Heartless together with Wizard, Fiorina, and Ilsa, then to the two of them and Sora holding hands, then to driving the glider, with him and Sora on either side of her.

Then, she suddenly returned to reality as she felt something shine in her pouch. Still wary of Midnight, she took out whatever it was that was shining. It was the Wayfinder she made for Sora. When they had reunited back at the Fountain Court at Radiant Garden, he returned it to her as promised. Just then, she felt rejuvenated as her strength returned, as well as more memories of her with Riku.

Midnight seemed to notice as she then unleashed her dark magic spell on them. However, a split second before the dark energy converged, a shield manifested and repelled the darkness, although she didn't know that until after she stopped casting. The moment she did, she saw Kairi with a barrier, and Twilight getting up to cast a healing spell on all of them.

Kairi then dismissed the (Dark) Shield, rushed at Midnight and 'hurled' her Keyblade, which spun and struck the black unicorn. She then recalled her weapon, and knocked Midnight into the air with the Destiny's Embrace before slamming her down to the ground. Suddenly, multiple black swords familiar to her manifested from above and converged right at Midnight, who teleported out of harm's way and reemerged behind Kairi. Before the black unicorn could attack her, she was struck by a Blizzard spell from Twilight.

Kairi took advantage of this, aimed her Keyblade at Midnight, and shot…a number of dark orbs. As these struck the black unicorn, Kairi immediately felt disturbed. After all, she was a Princess of Heart, so her heart was devoid of darkness. And yet she just used a dark attack. Two if those Soul Eater swords Riku once used were counted. Was it—

"Come on, Kairi!", Spike interrupted. "We almost got her!"

This shook Kairi off her doubts and thoughts as she then aimed her Keyblade once more and a searing purple fireball emerged from it. Before it could hit, Midnight 'picked up' some water from the melted ice and brought it out in front of her to shield herself, 'boosting' it with her own dark powers. However, a fire breath from Spike evaporated it and to make things worse for her, Twilight shot a Light-bolstered Blizzaga spell. Both dark fireball and shining ice shard struck…each other and exploded, resulting in a cloud of fog that confused Midnight.

"Arrrgh!", the black unicorn cried out as the 'fog' seared at her coat from the light and dark energy that came with the two colliding spells. "Really clever!"

"Not exactly what I was expecting, but…", Twilight remarked as she stood a few paces away from the fog.

"I'll handle this.", assured Kairi as she seemed to know what to do. She rushed into the fog, Keyblade in her teeth like Sora and ran at Midnight, who was still confused and unable to move. She struck, then teleported so that Midnight was in front of her again. As she continued to do this multiple times, Twilight and Spike noticed from what little they could see that Kairi wasn't teleporting the unicorn way. Just then, columns of light rose from the ground, dispersing the fog…and attacking Midnight. Kairi was a pace away, her Destiny's Embrace stabbed on the ground. She then turned around, 'picked up' ker Keyblade, leapt into the air, and brought it down on Midnight. The moment it hit, there was a flash of light that engulfed everything and time seemed to slow.

KHKHKHKHKH

The two rainbow-maned pegasi continued to roll along the 'ground' until they ended at a wall, where Black was now on top of Dash.

"You're pretty bad-flank, I'll give you that.", remarked Black. "Nopony who has ever fought me lasted this long. Say, what about I join you chums and—"

"You're not convincing me, Black Rainbow!", Dash retorted.

"Of course I'm not. We bear contrasting elements. I'm a constant backstabber, tied to my allies only by purpose, while you'll never leave your friends hanging, regardless of the circumstances. I have quite the silver tongue, you know. I can tell anypony anything and they'll believe me. Of course, I'll have to spice up my game to convince your fellow keepers once I'm through with you. Oh wait, they'll be goners to my 'fellow' wielders. Then again, I don't really care if **they** fai—"

"One shouldn't monologue until they're sure they got all their enemies down or are playing mind games.", Lea's voice came.

Black noted the voice, but didn't let go of Dash. "Okay. Now where are you, you chronic backstabber?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you that. How stupid do you think I am?"

In an instant, Lea was there, about to 'swing' a chakram at Black, who quickly moved so that Dash was in his way. However, Lea and his chakram suddenly blinked out of existence as he then appeared at Black's other side, 'swinging' his weapon. She wasn't able to counter in time as the bladed wheel hit, forcing her to let go of Dash. He then followed by shooting a fireball from his horn, then followed with his second wheel, which he summoned during that last move. Before anypony knew it, he was in a frenzy, blinking about whenever Black managed to get an opening for a counterattack. Dash could only watch as her comrade attacked at such marvelous speed.

"You…really…are…the…Flurry…of…Dan…cing…Flames.", Black said in between hits, knowing she had already lost. "Can't…believe…you…still…got…your…skills…when…you…were…a…No…pony."

"That's 'Nobody', bitch!", retorted Lea as he did one more slash. At this attack, there was a flash of light that came from Black, which seemingly slowed down time and blinded everypony.

KHKHKHKHKH

As Sora continued to watch Fluttershy and Warmonger fight each other, he thought back to the latter's words. _Am I really that stupid at times? _He then looked back to the time when I argued with him back at the Falcon two years ago, where I had been pointing out his stupidity before Fiorina broke it up. (17) He then looked back at their first visit to Land of Dragons, when we first encountered Mulan (and met up with Vitri). He then looked back to when he (and Donald) mistook Past-Pete for Present-Pete at Timeless River. He then recalled our confrontations with Xemnas and Black Ranger, and realized how convincing their words actually were compared to the stuff he did fall for. _Man, she's right. How could I be such a fool? I can't count on my…selective non-stupidity forever. I'll have to get myself to be more competent. Like Kairi. Like Riku. Like Rael. Like…Goofy._

Suddenly, his mind flashed back to when he first met him (and Donald) for the first time, then to him standing up to protect him, me, and Ilsa (18) from Riku's attack, then to him (and Gregorio) saving him and me just before Larxene and Yellow Ranger could take us down (or so I claim; the memory was **very** blurry).

Then, he suddenly returned to the present as he saw his crown necklace glow. Then, he started to experience more memories with Goofy as the bruises he got from Warmonger seemed to fade away. As he turned his attention back to the…pegasus fight, he saw Fluttershy throw Warmonger downward.

Sora then ran as fast as he could and just as the red pegasus crashed into the ground—resulting in a small crater—he hurled his Keyblade at her in a Strike Raid. It was a direct hit and she was awoken. As the Keyblade was recalled, he brought himself up with it, then performed a Sliding Dash towards Warmonger…who suddenly caught him, then easily hurled him aside.

Just as she did that, Fluttershy swooped down and slammed down on her. Warmonger then tossed her aside (with difficulty) once more, only for Sora to rush in with his Keyblade charged with static electricity for a Stun Edge. She made a close dodge, then bucked him away once again, only for Fluttershy (who blew herself back with her crystal's wind powers) to rush in sooner than she expected. And that was how Warmonger held out; one of them would rush at her, and she'd throw them off, only for the other to come in at her, and she'd repeat the process.

Of course, this didn't last long. After going on at this for a while, due to the rate of one of them headed back at her, Warmonger eventually had to kick both of them off at the same time. Fortunately, she managed to do that. Unfortunately, both of them were next to each other now, and they'd be able to make a plan, and she was already getting tired.

"Wow!", Sora said. "I neve thought you'd be this strong."

"Well, I couldn't keep letting my friends get in danger because of me.", replied Fluttershy in her usually sweet voice and a worried tone. "And you've been risking your life for me even though we aren't close friends."

"I guess that's just me; I help anybody who's in trouble, even if I don't know them."

"Thanks."

"I got a plan."

As the two made small talk, Warmonger righted herself, ready to charge at the two. She didn't know what they were up to, but she couldn't fool around any longer. She bent down, dragged a hoof across the ground, let out a snort, then charged. At about the same moment, so did her opponents. She charged at Sora, who had his Keyblade turned so that it was pointed foward like a spear. Fluttershy was above him, but Warmonger planned on making a quick dodge at the last second.

She didn't get that chance as Sora suddenly picked up speed, and zipped right past and struck her. As he quickly turned around and struck again within a second, Warmonger knew she was doomed as the keeper of her corresponding 'good' Element was aleady right above her, diminishing her strength. Sora finished his Sonic Blade for five more slashes, then he quickly followed up by spinning rapidly toward Warmonger. He reached her and she was unable to escape, even when the keeper of the Element of Kindness was no longer close to her as she moved out of the way. In the middle of this frenzy, there was a flash of light that engulfed the entire field and slowed down everypony's sense of time.

KHKHKHKHKH

Jewel was backed into a corner as Jerry and Rarity continued to attack her. Only a little more and the wielder of the Element of Avarice is going down. Just then…

"Oh, screw it!", she yelled. Then, in one swift motion, she 'hurled' her three crystals at Jerry, all of them knocking him on the head, then lunged at the bearer of her Element's 'good' counterpart herself. As the two unicorns began to roll across the stone ground (getting their coats and manes dirty), Jerry slowly recovered from Jewel's attack, only for the three crystals to cast spells, fly about, and attack on their own accord, which quickened his recovery, but were now hurting him bad.

Jerry immediately took to the skies and used his Force powers to repel the crystals' attacks. He was gonna have to take Jewel down and fast. Unfortunately, at the moment, he'll have to leave that to Rarity as he continued to evade the crystals. Below, he could see them punching one another, rolling, punching again, and rolling again, and so on.

While he did that, he evaded a lightning bolt from one of Jewel's crystals, which struck the ground. He then suddenly had an idea. As he swerved around, dodging attacks, he also direct them the best he could down at Jewel, although he had to make sure she was on top of Rarity and not the other way around. Eventually, he found an opening…

Jewel was on top now, and thoroughly ticked off. Also, she was somehow choking Rarity in spite of the fact she can't strangle with hooves alone.

"You really done it this time!", she shouted. "Nopony messes up my coat and gets away with it!"

"Oh, you are so vain!", Rarity replied as she turned herself and Jewel around so that she was on top of her. "It doesn't have to be the end of the world just because of that, you know!"

Jewel was then on top of her again. "Just how can you be so giving in spite of your high-class demeanor?"

"I don't think you're quite saying it right."

"So what? You're a foal to think—"

Just then, above them, Jerry dodged a lightning bolt. A second before that, Rarity reared up her hind legs and kicked Jewel off of her and into the bolt Jerry dodged. The white unicorn then rolled to the side as Jewel landed on the ground again as her crystals were then 'caught' by Jerry, who then swooped down on her. As Rarity got up, he then 'tossed' them right at Jewel, who was still hasn't recovered from the lightning bolt. The crysals hit her on the head one by one, but when the third hit, there was a flash of blinding light that seemed to slow down time.

KHKHKHKHKH

The plan was going well. Amidst the chaos, Pinkie had managed to discreetly get inside Bluebird's tail, which thanks to her now doubled size and poofed-out tone had enough space for her to hide in. (8) Chronicle and Wizard were leading the crazed earth pony around, firing beams of light/magic shurikens on occasion and teleporting around whenever she's about to catch up.

"Okay.", said Chronicle. "Just a couple more and we're outta here."

"I sure hope so.", replied Wizard as for some reason his mind turned to the Solar Boy Django.

Suddenly, he was looking back at the time when he and Riku were lost in the realm of darkness and the Solar Boy (and King Mickey) called out to them. He then looked back at the times when they supported him and Riku in Castle Oblivion. Then to when they finally met again for real in the castle. Then to reuniting with him after defeating Xemnas and returning to Destiny Islands.

Then, his mind returned to the present (and no relative time had passed in his flashback) as he felt something glow.

"Hey, Wizard. Why is your cutie mark glowing?", Chronicle asked.

Sure enough, as he turned to see it, it was. When King Mickey explained about the D-Links (which he was sure this was), he did some magic on some of their personal items. The King cast the D-Link spell on his old Star Seeker keychain, Sora's crown necklace, Kairi's Wayfinder, my pendant, a trinket of Django's that resembled a sunflower, an item similar to the zipper puller on Riku's clothes, some item of Sabata's that he didn't remember, and the insignia on Wizard's uniform. Apparently, when he changed form, his insignia (and its D-Link magic) 'went' to his flank as his cutie mark.

"Heck if I know, but I'm hoping it's something good." Immediately, he felt something good. He aimed at Bluebird, then 'pulled' the trigger. A periwinkle beam came out of the GunDeLuna and hit Bluebird, who stumbled to the ground and fell. However, she wasn't out of the count yet as she struggled to get up, although it did take some effort. Wizard proceeded to shoot away, seeing that for some reason, the lens of his GunDeLuna were changing colors. And for each of them, they shot different elements (Fire, Ice, Wind, Light, and even Dark), each hitting Bluebird with equal effectiveness.

"Man, this has gotta be the lamest and easiest fight I've ever fought in.", complained Chronicle as he teleported himself and Wizard around, evading Bluebird's mad rushes. "I'm pretty sure the others are doing better ones than this." All the while, Pinkie managed not to fall off.

"What was your most epic fight?", Wizard inquired as he continued shooting.

"Against Discord when I was avenging my friends after he corrupted them. Even though I did lose, it was the best I've been in, although I wouldn't fight it again for the thrill of it, but because of how much I loathe him." (19)

"Okay. Now for the finisher!" Wizard aimed his GunDeLuna upward and cried out, "Taiyou!" The clouds began to clear up as if heralding something about to come down from above. Bluebird wasn't about to wait and rushed at Wizard, but a sphere of water suddenly formed around her head. As she stopped short from sudden lack of air, Chronicle could see Pinkie pop out from Bluebird's tail and give a wink before popping back in.

Suddenly, a beam of light descended from the sky, headed for the enraged earth pony. In a split second, Chronicle quickly teleported to Pinkie and conjured a barrier around her and himself to protect them from the beam, which hit Bluebird full force. Time seemed to slow down a second after impact as a blinding flash came.

KHKHKHKHKH

We moved in hard and fast, quickly taking down Fungus's mushroomspawn and striking Fungus herself. She tried to run, but she seemed to tire quickly. She spawned mushrooms that seemed to bounce her about, but we took them out before long. As it turns out, Fungus wasn't very athletic (whereas Applejack was). While I wasn't either, not only did all the fights I've been through condition me enough, I was also gliding across the ground, finding it more energy-efficient than hovering. As for Tychophon, there was his (and my other Neopets') training after Eithne's attack in Neopia with the Heartless (20), not to mention the battles he partook in the Battledome.

Eventually, we had her cornered and she was on her last legs, moderately bruised.

"Wait…", she sputtered between deep breaths. "I…"

"I'm not gonna let you trick us.", Tychophon quickly interrupted as he nocked another arrow. I then remembered that I ended up making a scratch at Fungus earlier. And it drew blood. If that was the case…

"Hold—" was all I could get out before my Shoyru let his arrow fly. It struck Fungus at the side—and unexpectedly, there was a flash of light that blinded us and time seemed to slow down.

KHKHKHKHKHKH

Back on the road leading to Canterlot…

The whole place was empty, save for a giant, very noticeable wall of light that expanded in a wide area and covered a large circle. The sun was about to sink into the horizon as the moon began to rise on the other side of the sky.

Suddenly, this wall of light began to shrink into itself and turned into twenty-one spheres of light (one of them being slightly smaller than the others). Six of them then quickly converged together and the other fifteen circled them. These balls of light then dissipated and released whatever was inside them.

The six E.O.D. wielders fell in a heap together, still able to fight enough for a last stand (and Bluebird back to normal), while the rest of us emerged in a circle around them.

"Let's finish this!", declared Chronicle. Instantly, he aimed his horn at them and so did Twilight and their horns glowed. The six E.O.D. wielders were then encased in a single bubble of magic. "Everyone attack!"

And that's what we did. Converging at the six were a vortex of wind, two lightning bolts (one yellow and one blue), a torrent of water, a crack in the earth where an earth spike would come out at the end, two streams of fire (one dragonbreath and one magic spell), two beams from the Keyblade, a slim beam from the GunDeLuna, a flaming chakram, and an arrow. Only I didn't take part, vowing so many times to only deal a killing blow on any adversary of ours that was a Heartless, Nobody, or undead. And now, Unversed were in that list. And these six weren't.

The attacks collided and pushed at the bubble for a few seconds before exploding and kicking up a load of smoke, which remained for a while. A couple of seconds later, the smoke disappeared, revealing the six E.O.D. wielders sprawled on the ground, defeated and unmoving.

As we who had weapons dismissed them, I felt a pang of guilt as I only had to see one non-Heartless/Nobody/undead/Unversed life be taken one at a time in the battles I've fought and I turned away. Apparently, the E.O.H. keepers and Spike felt worse and broke down in tears in varying degrees, from silent sobbing to "ocular gushers" to everything in between. I saw Tychophon look away with guilt, being 'responsible' this time around. Chronicle also looked away, although he seemed to be able to take it in as well as me, Sora, Kairi, and the rest.

Sora went over to Twilight, who let out tears from her closed eyes. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that…that…"

"Not once have we ever consciously taken a life of a living, thinking being, especially a pony.", Applejack answered for her.

"And now…we just took six.", added Rainbow Dash, who was doing her best not to sob uncontrollably like Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Fluttershy were.

"But what about—" Sora was about to ask again when he was cut off by Chronicle.

"Sealing a perhaps-immortal draconequus—which is what Discord is—in stone doesn't count as killing in their book, even if it may be a fate worse than death.", said the blue unicorn.

As I walked over to Fluttershy to try and comfort her (which I admit I wasn't doing a good job of), I saw Kairi walk over to Wizard, who was a pace away and was trying to comfort Rarity. "Uhh…Wizard?"

"Hmm?", the white earth pony turned to Kairi.

"I want to ask you something…personal."

"Why not ask Sora? I mean, aren't you closer friends with him than me?"

"Well, considering he's busy at the moment…" Sora continued to talk to Chronicle about something, which I wasn't interested in.

"Okay. What is it you want to talk about?"

"Well, it's about the darkness. You know that a Princess of Heart is devoid of darkness in their hearts, right?"

"Right?"

"Well, during my fight against Midnight Shadow, I…somehow ended up using darkness."

Wizard seemed to ponder as he put a hoof to his chin. "Were you thinking about Riku?"

This seemed to catch Kairi off guard. "Yes?"

"And did something you own glow in a white light?"

"Yes?"

"Then you don't have to worry about a thing." Wizard put his hoof down. "That was the Dimension Link in action. In case you weren't listening back at the orphanage, these D-Links allow us to temporarily tap into the powers of our friends and use skills related to them."

"So…the darkness I used…I was actually just channeling Riku's dark powers through the D-Link?"

"Simply put, yes. I used a D-Link as well, where I channeled Django's powers, although I did use some abilities I never knew he had before."

"You know, I also used a D-Link.", I cut in. "I channeled Fiorina's powers and used her innate Eyrie abilities." I felt slightly relieved to get the subject of our defeating the E.O.D. wielders out of my mind, although I now felt bad talking about a different subject as our E.O.H. keeper friends continued to cry.

"So it seems like the D-Link spell looks into our past connections and somehow summons the power of those people we've formed a bond with."

"Uhh…you just told us that, Wizard.", I reminded him, then pondered, "Wow. An interesting power the magic of D-Link is."

"You know, the way you said that reminds me of one mentor Sir Pollonaire used to talk about."

"Now how did we get there?"

"I hear something!", Kairi interrupted.

Wizard and I turned to Kairi, then to where she was facing as we heard the flapping of wings. Lea, Jerry, Tychophon, Sora, and Chronicle turned as well.

We saw a carriage pulled by four white pegasus ponies wearing armor, helmets, and hoofwear of gold. They were all stallions, had icy blue eyes, their mane and tail were in two shades of royal blue, and their armor also happened to conceal their cutie marks. However, what really caught our attention were its two passengers.

One of them had a pinkish white coat, a colorful mane that seemed to flow in its own accord, and her stature reminded us of the alicorn that inadvertently led us here to Equestria. The other was slightly shorter, but was just as royal as the first and her appearance told us that she was a mare of the night and everything that was dark but not malicious.

As the chariot made its way to us, Chronicle told us that the passengers were Princesses Celestia and Luna. He then informed his friends of their arrival and they gradually recovered enough to bow in respect. As the rest of us followed suit, Sora just stood dumbfounded, but Chronicle quickly 'forced' him down.

The chariot landed and the two alicorns got off. As they walked over to us, Chronicle was the first to rise. "Princess Celestia. Princess Luna.", he said. "We have—"

"These must be the ones who have summoned the Unversed, am I right?", Luna interrupted as she turned to the defeated E.O.D. wielders.

"I am not absolutely certain, Luna, but they certainly were allied with the summoner, whoever it was. They claim to have been selected by Discord to wield 'his spin on the Elements'. **And** I personally think **that** took place after he corrupted my friends back in the maze. Why didn't either of you come when Ponyville was under attack?"

"We…faced similar problems in Canterlot."

"The Unversed attacked Canterlot too?"

"Yes. But for some reason, no other towns were under attack." Meanwhile, Celestia had walked over to Twilight and the two began to talk, the former comforting the latter. I didn't listen to their conversation as I turned my attention back to Chronicle and Luna.

"I seriously think that whoever summoned the Unversed was after the keepers." Luna didn't reply in confusion. "Of the Elements of Harmony, I mean. And I think Canterlot was attacked because the summoner probably knew that Cele—uhh, Princess Celestia would come and save them. After all, none of the keepers are fighters, although Rainbow Dash is the closest to one among them."

"I was thinking just the same thing! Well, save for the last part."

"Wow. Who knew?"

Luna then turned to the fallen E.O.D. wielders, who were then approached by her sister. "I'll have to say, you all seem to have done a good job in bringing them down."

"It was mostly thanks to our new friends." He indicated me, Sora, and the others as I noticed Celestia's horn glow yellow. "Although we did lend a hoof as well." The E.O.D. wielders also glowed faintly in the same color.

"Speaking of which, you haven't introduced them to us yet."

"Well, I was just about to do that." While Celestia walked over to the other E.O.H. keepers, apparently consoling them, he pointed to each of us with his right forehoof. "These are Sora, Kairi, Wizard, Lea, Jerry, Rael, and Tychophon. They're from another world."

"Actually, we're from other world**s**.", Wizard spoke up. "Sora and Kairi are from Destiny Islands, Lea and Jerry are from Radiant Garden, Tych and I are from Neopia, although I'm not completely sure where Rael is from." I frowned at him as he said that.

I turned back to the E.O.D. wielders, looking with fear. "Hmm…I wonder…are they really…really…"

"You don't have to worry, my little ponies.", Celestia finally spoke up to us, her voice soothing to the soul. "And dragons.", she added as she glanced at Tychophon and me. "They'll live." The E.O.H. keepers sighed in relief as they stopped crying. We didn't kill them after all. "These poor ponies have been manipulated, but not in the way you and your friends have been, Twilight Sparkle." The purple unicorn raised her head upon hearing her name as the alicorn pointed her horn again to the fallen E.O.D. wielders, 'pulling' some things out of them.

"What is…", Twilight managed to say. The items that were pulled out seemed to be five simple pendants and one black circlet.

"I can sense Discord's magic in these." I could hear a hint of anger in Celestia's voice.

"And I thought we turned everything he affected back to normal after we resealed him.", Chronicle commented as he 'procured' a wooden tray from his saddlebag. "Apparently, there are still some lasting effects other than our lingering hate for him, just like these. I assume these are the actual Elements of Discord." The two princesses nodded in affirmation as the "Elements" were set down on the tray. "So simple-looking compared to the Elements of Harmony. "

"Wait a second.", Sora said. "I thought your friends were—"

"I forgot to mention that The Elements of Harmony are actually powerful magical artifacts. My friends are merely its present bearers." He then pondered to himself. "Or are my friends the Elements and the artifacts amplifiers?"

Celestia then turned her head to face Sora. "You must be Sora, right?" Sora was about to ask how she knew his name, then remembered that Chronicle introduced them just a minute earlier. He's gotta stop being stupid around good guys. He nodded to the Princess. "I've heard of you through Master Yen Sid."

"You know of Yen Sid?"

I picked up a pebble and tossed it at Sora, hitting him. "Show some respect, Sora."

"That's quite alright.", Celestia assured me.

"I was talking about how he addressed his master, not his behavior towards you, Princess Celestia.", I clarified.

"Sister, don't you have a message to relay to Sora?", Luna said.

"Right." Celestia then turned to Sora. "We should talk someplace more private." She then turned her head to Luna and they both nodded. Their horns then glowed (yellow and navy blue) and then there was a flash. The two princesses have teleported themselves and all of us (the E.O.H. keepers, their friends, Sora and co., the E.O.D. wielders, and the guards that pulled their chariot) away.

Part VIII. Celestia's Message

In a flash of light, we all reappeared in what our Equestria friends recognized to be the throne room. (21) We then noticed that other than the ones who brought them over by chariot, no guards were around, but Princess Luna explained that that was because since she and Princess Celestia had been outside the palace defending Canterlot alongside them.

She then ordered the guards to take away the E.O.D. wielders for medical attention and therapy (which Chronicle noted in surprise for some reason). As for the tray with the "Elements" they possessed, that was taken too.

Once that was taken care of and the room vacated of the guards (and the chariot), Celestia then spoke up as she faced Sora. "I am supposed to relay this mesage to you, Riku, or King Mickey should any of you stop by in Equestria."

"What's the message?", inquired Wizard.

"While your current quest is important—and believe me it is, more than you think—the current threat looming over is just as dangerous. There is a group of what Yen Sid calls Nobodies called the Heartless Syndicate."

"We heard of them. And run into two of their members."

"From what little Master Yen Sid has discovered of them at this moment, they plan to conquer all the worlds using the Unversed. He believes they're somehow involved with either Master Xehanort or Vanitas as when they were defeated, the Unversed have ceased to exist. They must be stopped at all costs." The seven of us non-natives to Equestria nodded in affirmation.

"I guess we should be leaving, then.", guessed Tychophon.

"But we still haven't found the candidate for the Crystal Ring yet.", I whispered to him.

"Before we go, there's still one more thing we need to do.", Kairi stated. "It's why we came here in the first place."

"Do you think we should mention that alicorn we saw?", my Shoyru whispered to me.

"…Nah.", I replied as I watched Kairi walk over to Twilight.

"Well, it looks like we have to go.", she said.

_Hold on._, I thought. _A farewell? Or…_

"It's okay, Kairi.", the purple unicorn answered.

"At the very least, you guys were around for longer than Terra, Ven, and Aqua.", said Spike.

"Don't worry.", assured Sora. "I promise they'll be able to visit Equestria again someday."

"And also, it was fun kicking Unversed butt with you guys!", said Rainbow Dash.

"Will we ever see you again?", asked Fluttershy.

"Don't worry. I'm sure we will.", I found myself saying.

"Please write to us, or send us a postcard.", Rarity requested.

"I'm not sure how we can send messages across worlds…"

"And don't go forgettin' that you're always welcome here in Ponyville.", Applejack added.

"And while you're at it, see if you can come back for the Grand Galloping Gala, or The Summer Sun Celebration, or Nightmare Night, or my birthday party, or Twilight's birthday, or Applejack's birthday...", Pinkie rambled.

"And if you ever need any help, we are always ready to listen.", finished Twilight.

"Thanks.", said Kairi.

Just then, a light glowed in Twilight, somewhere at the front. There were gasps from everyone in the room except for us who knew about it and saw it twice before, and Princess Celestia who just raised her eyebrows.

_Okay. I guess Kairi was waiting for this._, I thought as something in Kairi's pouch also glowed. The Keyblade wielder 'took' it out and saw that it was the Crystal Ring.

Once again, everything around her and her candidate vanished into the darkness. Both unicorns were calm through all this.

Then, just as Kairi's Keyblade was summoned, below them appeared the mural as if the darkness hiding it was being purged by a spell. Twilight noted that it was like when she used her memory spell to purify her friends of Discord's spell when he had corrupted them.

Kairi looked down to see that Twilight was the mural's 'main character'. The 'outer ring' depicted her cutie mark, and the 'miscellaneous circles' showed her fellow E.O.H. keepers, Chronicle, Spike, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, Princess Luna, and Princess Celestia. This time around, unlike the last murals she or I have been to, no one had a heart around them.

_Strange. I was expecting Chronicle to be the one with the heart. _

As per the procedure, she jumped up, where she kept rising at a steady rate. She then turned to the mural, where she stopped moving. Twilight watched her expectantly as she did her thing.

Kairi looked at the Crystal Ring, then 'hurled' it at Twilight. As it descended, it spun and increased in size. Once the ring 'passed' the candidate and the Keyhole and Heart appeared, she 'aimed' the Destiny's Embrace at the Keyhole with her magic and fired a beam into it. Like before, the Heart shone and eventually engulfed all of them. When the light faded, they were back with the rest of us.

"Wh…what just happened, dear?", asked Rarity.

"Well…since you guys already know about the Keyblade, I guess we'll tell you about the Crystal Rings, one of which Kairi just used on Twilight here.", Wizard said.

"You see, our current quest involves combating a future threat that's gonna come after the Heartless Syndicate.", I explained. "We'll need all the Fusils of Shadows, Guns of Light," I presented my own. "…and Keyblades we can get, and the Crystal Rings bestow upon its receiver the power to wield one of them."

"And if I were to guess, most likely it'll be a Keyblade.", added Lea.

"A Keyblade?", shouted Pinkie as she suddenly popped out from behind Lea. "Now that's cool! When's she gonna get it? Huh? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"Around a year, at least.", answered Wizard. This disappointed Pinkie as she pouted for a second. "But by then, you've probably learned a lot more."

"Don't worry.", assured Chronicle. "I'll teach her—and the others—everything I know, starting with self-defense, then combat. Wait. What are Fusils of Shadows?"

"They're like Guns of Light, but with some differences. Unfortunately, we're still don't know much about them."

"Well, is there any way we can help you right now?", Twilight asked us. "Anything at all?"

"Well…", Sora didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, I had an idea. I reached into my bag, and took out a few of the Summon Charms we obtained two years ago when we fought the Power Rangers Anarchy Force and Organization XIII. "What about summon charms? Even though their worlds might not be destroyed, we can still call up for their help with these."

"I can help with that.", Celestia spoke up.

I turned to the Princess. "You can?" She nodded as she then produced something that looked like the summon charms I took out. However, unlike the ones I held, there was no icon of any sort on it. "Why is it empty?"

"I know of these summon charms you possess; should its holder will it and call their name, whoever the charm calls for will be temporarily teleported to the holder's location to help them out. As for why this charm is empty, it has yet to attune to who it will summon."

"Wait a second, your Majesty.", interrupted Chronicle. "I think I know where this is going; you're gonna ask one of us to become a summon for Sora and his company?" He was answered with a nod. "Please allow us to discuss things over." And with that, he, Spike, and the E.O.H. keepers huddled and whispered to one another. The rest of us remained silent as they discussed. I felt awkward, just standing there as they talked. While Celestia waited patiently with us, Luna decided she had other matters to attend to and teleported out of the room. There were some heated arguments among the keepers, some groans of disappointment, and even a cry of glee.

After around two minutes, they seemed to have come to a decision. Chronicle turned to the Princess and said, "All right. After our little debate, it's been decided that our summon 'candidate' is…Rainbow Dash." He, Spike, and the other E.O.H. keepers stepped aside as the rainbow-maned mare walked forward, clearly satisfied with having been chosen. Just as she was about to bypass Chronicle, he paused her. "You understand the risks, don't you? You don't know when you might be called. For all we know, it might be in a time that's most inconvenient to you or your friends."

"That won't be an issue, Chronicle.", said Wizard. "While the magic behind summoning is a very complex process, I can tell you this. There is time travel involved for the summoned. The summoning magic looks for a convenient time where the summoned is not busy doing anything important—including sleep—and calls them up at that time. And then—"

"I think I get what you mean. In that case, you have relieved me of my worries." Chronicle then let his friend continue.

"How did you know about all that?", I asked Wizard.

"I lent a hand in making your new summon charms and picked up some stuff."

"Oh."

Rainbow Dash walked over to Princess Celestia and lowered her head as if to ready herself for whatever 'ritual' the Princess would have to perform. Celestia 'lowered' the 'empty' charm so that it was just above the pegasus and her horn began to glow brighter. The charm also began to glow as a seal with a pattern of sorts began to appear on the floor underneath it and what it will eventually summon.

In a few seconds, it was over and the light faded. Celestia then 'handed' the summon charm to me. As I received it, I saw that the charms icon was now Rainbow Dash's cutie mark in front of a cyan backdrop.

"Wow.", I said as I looked at it. "Thank you, Princess Celestia."

"You're most welcome.", she replied.

"Well, it's time we took our leave.", said Jerry. He then turned to Wizard, who nodded and opened the little pocket of hyperspace all Neopets possess (22), 'taking out' the teleporter, which dropped onto his back as he didn't have any hands.

I decided to pick it up and motioned for Sora and the others to gather close. As most of them were currently ponies (and thus can't "hold hands"), they decided to move close to each other, almost snuggling each other. Tychophon and I groaned as the former put his hand on Jerry's back and I put mine on Sora's mane.

"Be safe.", Fluttershy called out to me.

"I can't guarantee that, Fluttershy.", I replied. "After all, we'll be fighting enemies all the time, and most probably be fighting for our lives and those important to us."

"But we'll promise we'll try and stay alive.", assured Sora.

"Can we please leave now?", interrupted Lea. "You're making me want to act all sappy."

"All right. All right.", I said, then turned to our new pony friends. "Well, goodbye."

"Goodbye!", chorused everypony, as well as Spike and even Princess Celestia. I pushed the button and we were gone in a flash. However, I received a vision as I did.

_-vision-_

An earth pony wearing certain familiar Eastern clothes covering (and catered to) his entire body overlooked the now peaceful Ponyville under the night sky. He noticed signs of repairs being made to some of the buildings that were damaged from the Unversed attack.

"Hmm…", he said. "Looks like these ponies are a lot stronger than I expected. Too bad I failed to witness the Elements of Harmony in action. They can prove to be a formidable force against my plans. Oh well. As long as they don't intervene…"

And with that, he left in a gray wormhole.

_-end vision-_

I didn't know what to make of it, so I didn't tell anybody about it as we emerged at the Transwarp Room, where we quickly pushed ourselves away from each other in embarrassment, especially Sora and Kairi.

Gummi Ship Time: New Pieces

"Now these are some interesting pieces."

"I'll have to agree."

Euryflavia, Messerole, and Aquanax were playing the Command Board again, and they seem to have 'unlocked' a new board and new pieces. As I came over to watch them (back in human form, of course), I saw that the new board was called the "Pony Board", and that the pieces were the six E.O.H. keepers.

As they started a new game, Messerole selected the piece depicting me, Aquanax the Applejack piece, and Euryflavia the Rarity piece.

"Hey, mind if I play?", I called to them. The three Neopets turned to see me.

"Of course.", agreed Aquanax. "I think there's room for one more." She pushed some buttons on her side of the board and the empty side (there were four) opened up and changed so that a slots wheel, a card ejector, and a card rack. I took a chair and seated myself so that I was able to play comfortably, then there was a holographic list that appeared.

"What's this?", I asked.

"You're supposed to select a piece in the list that you'll play as.", explained Euryflavia.

"I see." I checked the list of pieces I can play as, then made my choice. On the Start Panel appeared our four pieces.

"Hey Rael.", Messerole said.

"Yeah?"

"Why'd you choose her?" The piece I had selected was Fluttershy.

"What choice do I have if most of the new pieces are girls, huh?" For some reason, no one had anything to say to that. "Now, can we get started?"

"Okay.", answered Aquanax. And with that, I started my first game on the Command Board.

-Yellow Travelers Chronicler-

**Hayden Tinerapeet**

One of the Fusiliers of Shadows. She fought Kairi and Fiorina in a shared dream. Kairi asked her if she knew her past, but she obviously didn't. She told Kairi that even with friends by her side, she'd have to learn how to stand up by herself as well.

-A/N: In-universe, Chronicle provides most of the following entries…-

**Twilight Sparkle**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A gifted unicorn who is very ta**l**ented in magic and is the pers**o**nal student of Princess Celestia. Before she met her friends in Pony**v**ille (with only Spik**e** and Chronicle as her companions), she was an antisocial pony who only focused on her studies, but after an adventure that involved stopping Nightmare Moon, she had come to realize the magic of friendship and was then tasked on studying it.

She can be a stickler for order and can get anxious whenever she thinks she's about to fail her mentor. She can also be skeptic towards things she cannot understand, although she has learnt a lesson about that. She's also a natural leader and excels in organization.

She bears the Element of Magic.

**Pinkie Pie**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A hy**p**eractive earth p**o**ny who love**s** to throw part**i**es. She always seems **t**o be full of energy, and possesses a photgraph**i**c memory. Aside from party-throwing, she is also **v**ery profici**e**nt in baking, although h**e**r taste buds are more tolera**n**t than most.

Sh**e** also possesses something she calls the "Pinkie Sense", which p**r**edict certain actions and manifests in the form of her various body parts acting out in stran**g**e wa**y**s. She usually moves around by walking or hopping, but when she runs, she can match Rainbow Dash in terms of speed.

She bears the Element of Laughter.

(CLASSIFIED: Don't tell her or her friends, but I think she can warp the laws of physics to her whim as long as it looks funny to someone, whether they're in the immediate area or are watching records of it.)

**Rainbow Dash**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A tomboyish pe**g**asus who excels and takes p**r**ide in her super speed. She aspires to j**o**in the Wonderbolts, a team of excellent stunt flyers famed in all of Eq**u**estria. She ca**n** be brash and lazy, but once she sets her min**d** in someth**i**ng, she's go**n**na do it, especially if her friends are in dan**g**er, even if other more logical options are available.

She doesn't hide her annoyance at her friends' behavior (even if it can be insulting), can be brutally honest, and reacts poorly to failure or the possibility of it. She also has a mischevious streak and plays pranks alongside Pinkie Pie, although they luckily have standards.

She bears the Element of Loyalty.

**Applejack**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A hardworking and athletic pony who is down-to-earth, resourceful, and dependable. As an earth pony and farmer, she's a whi**z** when it comes to managing plants and herding animals. However, sh**e** can be stubbor**n**, but not because she can't see other options like Rainbow Dash, but because she's unwilling to consider them due to a need to stick to tradition.

She speaks in an accent similar to that of what I would call a "country girl" (some of which I have seen in the Meri Farm Acres (23)), and she even pretty much behaves like one; willing to get dirty, and has a dislike for overly girlish stuff.

She bears the Element of Honesty.

**Spike**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A baby dragon who is Twilight Sparkle's "number one assistant". He's also serves as the 'line' between her and Princess Celestia and sends/receives letters between the two with his magic fire breath. He's playful and usually laughs at others' misfortunes, although he is very helpful and supportive towards his 'boss'. He's often defensive about his masculinity and is dismissive of "girly" things, although this is often a front.

In spite of his confidence, he can be insecure at times, and it caused a brief rivalry between him and Owlowiscious. He also seems to have a crush on Rarity (in spite of their difference in species), although she doesn't seem to notice it.

**Chronicle**

_My OC for My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2011)_

A blue unicorn who is only slightly less gifte**d** in magic than his charge Twilight Sparkl**e**, bu**t** is highly profici**e**nt in combat, which has p**r**oved useful in **m**any a dangerous s**i**tuation. He's rather level-headed a**n**d gener**a**lly more sane **t**han h**i**s friends, alth**o**ugh he's usually the first to resort to (mi**n**or) violence.

He keeps magical surveillance on his friends to see to their safety, which he has dedicated himself to. Being an only guy (aside from Spike) among a circle of mostly female friends, he's begun to like girly stuff as well, but he has been able to maintain his masculinity. Whenever any of them get hurt or are wronged in some way, he shows no mercy to the perpetrators depending on how severe the act was.

Unlike the rest of his friends, in spite of his involvement with them, he doesn't bear an Element of Harmony.

(CLASSIFIED: He is a Story Crew member assigned to the world Equestria.)

**Rarity**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A fabulou**s** unicorn who works as a dr**e**ssmaker. In spite of her c**l**assy appearance implying a sel**f**ish and snobby pony, she's actua**l**ly rather charitabl**e**. She ha**s** an eye for detail and know**s** how to make somethi**n**g look "fabulous", h**e**r magical prowe**s**s centered around making them **s**o. She's very well-spoken, and cares for her own beauty as well as that of others.

However, while usually averse to it, she's willing to get dirty when the situation calls for it, and she is skilled in influencing others, not to mention being stronger than she looks. Her desire for attention and love for beauty can sometimes get the best of her and can make her forget what she was supposed to be doing.

She bears the Element of Generosity.

**Fluttershy**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A normally timid p**e**gasus who cares for the animals (having a close connection to the**m**), and **p**refers to st**a**y close to the ground. She's a delica**t**e soul, and is afraid of a lot of things, but she can briefly get over it in times of need. S**h**e's not a pon**y** you'd want to anger though. Should you manage to do so, especially by hurting her friends, she'll make sure you'll regret it, whether it's by talking you down or kicking your flank!

While she may not show much, she has a lot of hidden depths. For one, she has an ability called "The Stare", which can impose her will on others, even cow a cockatrice on the verge of petrifying her with its own stare into submission. Thankfully, she's conflict avoidant, and so isn't very advantageous of this.

She bears the Element of Kindness.

**Gummy**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Pinkie Pie's pet alligator. He usually does nothing except blink, swim around, and bite at others. For some reason, he doesn't have any teeth and doesn't seem to be able to regrow them like most alligators. Also, his bite isn't very strong, although it can freak out anypony who falls victim to them.

**Minuette**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A blue unicorn who showed interest in Lea's fire show when Rainbow Dash and Chronicle mistook him for "trying something" on Fluttershy. She sometimes also goes by the name Colgate. While she's also a timepiece maker like Doctor Whooves, she also a stickler for oral hygiene.

**DJ-Pon3**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A disc jockey back at Rarity's first fashion show. Her real name is Vinyl Scratch and uses DJ-Pon3 as a stage name.

**Octavia**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A cellist who played at the Grand Galloping Gala. It is unknown as to how Pinkie Pie got her to play for the party she hosted for us, but Chronicle thinks they are related.

**Owlowiscious**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Twilight Sparkle's pet owl. He essentially works the 'night shift' when it's Spike's bedtime.

**Princess Celestia**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Supreme co-ruler of Equestria alongside Princess Luna, although she did have to seal her sister and take over her duty when the latter turned into Nightmare Moon out of jealousy. Knowing she would eventually escape, she set up a gambit so that her student Twilight Sparkle would make friends and that they would find and bear the Elements of Harmony.

She's kindhearted, understanding, and is absolutely revered by her subjects. However, she is often quite uncomfortable being seen as a distant and mighty ruler and prefers a more relaxed approach. She also has a slightly mischievous streak to help with this.

**Princess Luna**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Supreme co-ruler of Equestria alongside Princess Celestia. About a millenium ago, she grew jealous of her sister because the ponies "shunned" the night and slept through it. This (as well as some unknown force) turned her into Nightmare Moon, and she wished to bring forth Eternal Night, forcing her sister to seal her in the moon she was meant to have control over.

Eventually, she escaped her 'prison' to bring forth Eternal Night. However, thanks to the Elements of Harmony, Nightmare Moon was defeated and Princess Luna returned to normal.

**Discord**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A draconequus who once ruled Equestria in a reign of chaos. He was once sealed in stone by Princesses Celestia and Luna, but was eventually released by some unknown force. He was able to warp reality in Equestria to his whim and play mind games with the keepers of the Elements of Harmony, shattering their bonds. Only Chronicle was immune to his effects, but even with that he couldn't defeat him alone.

Thanks to a gambit by Princess Celestia, and because Discord did not take her seriously as a threat, Twilight Sparkle was able to reunite with her friends and put the spirit of disharmony "back in his can".

**Mayor Mare**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

The Mayor of Ponyville. For some reason, she looks rather worthless at her job, kinda like one certain mayor Sora, Kairi, and I know…

**Derpy Hooves**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Sometimes also known as Ditzy Doo. She's Ponyville's dependable mailmare, although you wouldn't want to rely on her on anything else. While she can be clumsy in handling stuff—if her cross-eyes are anything to go by—she's quite a smooth and graceful flyer, and is quite strong. Also, as hard as it is to believe, she's more competent than everypony thinks, although she likes to act silly. She also loves muffins.

**Golden Harvest**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Sometimes also known as Carrot Top. She sells carrots at the marketplace and has a small business rivalry with Applejack, although she also sometimes lends a hoof at her farm. She's a very close friend of Derpy Hooves.

**Heartstrings**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A unicorn who usually happens to be in whatever general area Twilight Sparkle is whenever she learns something about friendship. Also goes by the name Lyra. As her name indicates, she has a talent in music and sings all day.

**Bon Bon**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Best friends with Heartstrings and owner of a candy shop in Ponyville. While she may look sweet, she can also be a bit of a jerk at times. She's also a voice actress and practices off hours.

**Opalescence**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Rarity's fluffy Persian cat, called Opal for short. Although Rarity adores her, the feeling doesn't seem to be entirely mutual.

**Scootaloo**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A tomboyish pegasus filly who looks up to Rainbow Dash. Together with Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom, they form the Cutie Mark Crusaders, where they go do all sorts of activities to find their cutie marks. While she hasn't learned how to fly yet, she uses her wings to ride her scooter really fast. She can also dance well, but prefers to sing in spite of how bad she is at it.

**Apple Bloom**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Applejack's little sister who once felt very insecure about not having her cutie mark yet until she met Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, eventually forming the Cutie Mark Crusaders, where they go do all sorts of activities to find their cutie marks. Her talent lies in construction and design, although she prefers to dance.

**Sweetie Belle**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Rarity's little sister who is very clumsy whenever she's trying to help in anything to the point that she is told not to move at all. Together with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, they form the Cutie Mark Crusaders, where they go do all sorts of activities to find their cutie marks. Her talent lies in songs, but she balks at the thought of singing for an audience.

**Dinky**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A young unicorn filly who looks similar to Derpy Hooves in coat and mane. She's the little sister of Amethyst Star.

**Cheerilee**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

The sole teacher in Ponyville's Schoolhouse. She has a kind and cheerful attitude and her talent lies on that.

**Twist**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A friend of Apple Bloom's. Her special talent is making candy. However, according to Chronicle, ever since the Cutie Mark Crusaders were formed, the two haven't been as close as they were before.

**Diamond Tiara**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A snooty, stuck-up, mean filly who belittlies others lacking cutie marks like Apple Bloom, which also inadvertently led to the formation of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Judging by her cutie mark, Chronicle thinks her talent lies in leadership, which may not the benevolent kind, but effective regardless.

**Silver Spoon**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A snooty, stuck-up filly who tags along with Diamond Tiara, although she seems to be a tad nicer than her friend. Judging by her cutie mark, Chronicle thinks her talent lies in fine dining.

**The Flower Ponies**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Roseluck (Rose), Flower Wishes (Daisy), and Lily. The former sells perfumes while the latter two sell flowers. They always seem to overreact to tragedies, although in this Unversed attack, they weren't far off this time.

**Doctor Whooves**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A regular looking pony among wildly colored ones who works as a timepiece maker. Chronicle thinks he's not from this world, just like him and us, if his "sonic screwdriver" is anything to go by… (25)

**Snips and Snails**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Two somewhat dim-witted unicorn colts with a penchant for making trouble. While Snips is more-or-less your average mischievous colt, Snails is rather slow in understanding things.

**The Cakes**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Mr. Carrot Cake and Mrs. Cup Cake. They are a married couple who are the shopkeepers of Sugarcube Corner and employers of Pinkie Pie.

**Big Macintosh**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Applejack's big brother. They both do most of the manual labor in the farm, with Apple Bloom assisting at times. He's a stallion of few words, although he's smarter than he looks, or at least has more common sense than Applejack.

**Winona**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Applejack's pet dog who helps in rounding up cattle who sometimes run into Ponyville and risk causing damage.

**Granny Smith**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Grandmother of Applejack, Apple Bloom, and Big Macintosh. Age has done a number on her, and while she ain't crippled or senile, she's getting there. Despite this, she still manages to continue her role as the matriarch of the Apple family.

**Caramel**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

An earth pony who usually has bad luck whenever he's trying to help, although that doesn't let him down. He's a neighbor of Rarity's and sometimes lends Big Macintosh a hoof in the farm.

**Noteworthy**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

An very helpful earth pony who is also a musician in his spare time. Also known as Blues.

**Amethyst Star**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A purple unicorn who is Dinky's elder sister. According to Chronicle, she's as much a friend to all living things as Fluttershy is. She also loves to dance.

**Berry Punch**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A purple earth pony who runs a winery in Ponyville. She's also the mother of Ruby Pinch, a unicorn. What?

**Ruby Pinch**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Filly of Berry Punch, in spite of being a unicorn while her mother is an earth pony.

**Suicorn**

Unversed in the form of a winged unicorn. Yes, they're just wrong, don't remind me. Along with the power of flight, these Unversed can cast all the spells their 'element pot' kin can cast as well as conjure barriers. They don't have any recognizable weaknesses, so just take them down like you would any regular enemy.

**Angel**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

Fluttershy's pet bunny. While he may look sweet like all bunnies do, he's more direct than his mistress and always tries to bring her out of her shell and be more assertive. He also doesn't like Spike.

**Zecora**

_My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010)_

A zebra who lives in the Everfree Forest. She was once an outcast due to her unusual appearance, and her cryptic warnings and penchant for rhyming didn't help her reputation. Eventually, thanks to a clearup of misunderstandings involving the poison joke flower, she's been accepted into Ponyville society thanks to her knowledge of magical herbs and creatures in the forest.

**Fungus Amongus**

_The Elements of Discord by TheLovelyChemist in deviantART (2011)_

Wielder of the "Element" of Deceit. She has powers over mushrooms and can prove deadly with them, but she's lacking in stamina, which we were able to use to our advantage.

**Jewel**

_The Elements of Discord by TheLovelyChemist in deviantART (2011)_

Wielder of the "Element" of Avarice. She channels the power of three crystals to amplify her magic to dangerous levels and they have proved to be real devastating. However, she hates getting dirty and does everything she can to keep herself pristine.

**Bluebird**

_The Elements of Discord by TheLovelyChemist in deviantART (2011)_

Wielder of the "Element" of Despair. She emits an aura that redirects any harm on her back to whoever did it. But for some reason, this aura is nullified whenever the bearer of the Element of Laughter, Pinkie Pie, was at close proximity. Also, when provoked, her mane can go wild and spike and she can grow to twice her size.

**Warmonger**

_The Elements of Discord by TheLovelyChemist in deviantART (2011)_

Wielder of the "Element" of Malice. She has a lot of strength in her, which quickly caught Sora off guard when he fought her. However, thanks to the bearer of her contrasting "Element", Fluttershy, and its ability to diminish her power, she soon proved to be stoppable.

**Black Rainbow**

_The Elements of Discord by TheLovelyChemist in deviantART (2011)_

Wielder of the "Element" of Betrayal. She may not be as fast as the bearer of her 'good' Element's counterpart Rainbow Dash, but she makes up for it by being stronger than her.

**Midnight Shadow**

_The Elements of Discord by TheLovelyChemist in deviantART (2011)_

Wielder of the "Element" of Curse. She doesn't have as much magical potential as the bearer of her element's 'good' counterpart, Twilight Sparkle, but she knows an array of dark and elemental spells used for combat. However, as with most spellcaster-types, she was unable to take much of a physical beating.

nightelf37: Credits. Warning. Some characters may share VAs. While some of the background ponies may be in the 'scenes', I can't think of VAs for them, so you'll have to imagine their voices by appearance. I mean, the two MCs in that Struggle tournament at Twilight Town (from _Kingdom Hearts II_) weren't given names. Also, remember that there have been females voicing as young male characters, so don't be surprised if you see some here. And I might "play against type" too, just for fun.

_Tara Strong as Twilight Sparkle_

_Andrea Libman as Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy_

_Ashleigh Ball as Applejack and Rainbow Dash_

_Tabitha St. Germain as Rarity, Princess Luna, Granny Smith, Mrs. Cake, and Derpy Hooves (7)_

_Cathy Weseluck as Spike and Mayor Mare_

_Alanna Ubach as Chronicle (Manny Rivera in El Tigre)_

_Michelle Creber as Apple Bloom_

_Madeleine Peters as Scootaloo_

_Claire Corlett as Sweetie Belle_

_Nicole Oliver as Cheerilee and Princess Celestia_

_Chantal Strand as Diamond Tiara_

_Shannon Chan-Kent (24) as Silver Spoon_

_David Tennant as Doctor Whooves (the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who)_

_Lee Tockar as Snips_

_Richard Ian Cox as Snails_

_Peter New as Big Macintosh_

_Brenda Crichlow as Zecora_

_Carolyn Lawrence as Bluebird (Cindy Vortex in The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron)_

_April Winchell as Warmonger (Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians)_

_Cathy Cavadini as Black Rainbow (Tanya in An Americal Tail)_

_Amy Birnbaum as Midnight Shadow (Tea Gardner in Yu-Gi-Oh!)_

_Jill Talley as Fungus Amongus (Karen in Spongebob Squarepants)_

_Olivia D'Abo as Jewel (Jane in The Legend of Tarzan)_

(1) Meta K—*cough*—night.

(2) Creator Cameo. Lauren Faust's "ponysona". *wink*

(3) Already, the "Hold Your Hippogriffs" start.

(4) An alicorn-like Neopet.

(5) A "Story Crew" OC. You won't see him in the show proper.

(6) One of many background ponies in the show. And if the scenes in "The Cutie Mark Chronicles" are to be believed, they're all also older than the mane cast.

(7) One may see it as a "Call Forward" to "The Last Roundup". (First time I used one footnote twice.)

(8) If you're wondering why or how, it's Pinkie Pie! She runs on cartoon physics! Deal with it! (Now a second time.)

(9) Yeh. My first 'original' Unversed. And yes, it's a reference to the meme that only Lauren Faust can have an alicorn OC without it being a Mary Sue. Also, slightly based the name on the Pokémon Suicune for no reason at all.

(10) I'm not gonna go describing this one this time. None of us will be facing that Unversed. At least not in Equestria.

(11) Even if Tych, 'I', and Fluttershy haven't seen the ones capable of defending themselves, 'we' have seen them "offscreen" when this fic's attention was on somepony else.

(12) In her first appearance, Zecora didn't speak in rhymes 100% of the time.

(13) As (I think is) sometimes customary in fanfics, Pinkie Pie would break the fourth wall. And Chronicle, being a member of the Story Crew, would keep her from going too far.

(14) Back at "Chapter 68: The Last Battle" in _Kingdom Hearts Remake 2_. May also apply to its "Retcon Version" when it comes up.

(15) In case this isn't familiar, check the first episode of the series. It's titled "Friendship is Magic, Part 1" or "Mare in the Moon".

(16) Referenced the _SCP Foundation_ and its SCP-073 named "Cain". Do I seem to be the only fanfic author that makes references to the Foundation? I mean, I know fanfics of them aren't exactly allowed, but…

(17) Back at "Chapter 46: Halloween Town" in _Kingdom Hearts Remake 2_. May also apply to its "Retcon Version" when it comes up.

(18) The Hollow Bastion chapter for KHR1 Retcon Version isn't up just yet, but it will be soon.

(19) I'll eventually make a one-shot explaining this once I come around to making a "Shisno Chronicles: Friendship is Magic".

(20) This tale is explained (however crappy) in my fanfic _Neopets Warden Force_.

(21) I'm not gonna describe it this time. Just watch the show's opening.

(22) As I have explained in "TCO: Brave Chicken".

(23) As I'm a Filipino and not an American, I can't reference the "deep south" or anything like that. So this is the closest I could think of. Of course, this term is a Neopets term, and I know Meridell is…medieval, but it's the best analogue I could come up with.

(24) She's also Pinkie Pie's singing voice.

(25) I know next to nothing about _Doctor Who_, so I apologize to any fans of the series if (my interpretation of) Doctor Whooves doesn't meet their expectations.

**D-Links used: Fiorina, Riku, Goofy, Django**

**D-Link forged: Twilight Sparkle**

**Summon acquired: Rainbow Dash**

Valtonous: That was one hell of a chapter. Longer than that "Battle of X000 Heartless". Don't you think you could've…split it into two parts?

nightelf37: Sorry. Didn't cross my mind. Whoa. And a lot more footnotes than my first chapter, not counting the prologue. A new record once again.

Valtonous: Don't you think you put in too many characters?

nightelf37: I can't help it. I love them so much! In fact, if I didn't care that much about being a good writer, I would've added Steven Magnet, Gilda, The Great and Powerful Trixie, the Wonderbolts, the Ursa Minor, the Parasprites, the Sports Pegasi at Cloudsdale, the Diamond Dogs, Prince Blueblood, Nurse Redheart, Pokey Pierce, Medley, Cloud Kicker, Lemon Hearts—

Valtonous: Whoa! Who were those last ones?

nightelf37: More background ponies. Although they don't have as much fanon focus as Derpy and the others. As for Dinky's cutie mark, I thought that of all the ones she's had throughout the series, the bow-and-arrow would be most fitting, with the Unversed attacking the town and all.

Valtonous: What's with the lineup of Twilight and her friends at the party?

nightelf37: It's by order of "Red Oni, Blue Oni", left to right.

Valtonous: How good are you at rhyming?

nightelf37: Not that well, I'm afraid. Had to struggle to find good words for Zecora.

Valtonous: Why is the chapter titled Friendship 'Researcher'?

nightelf37: Sounded cooler than any of the other bright ideas I had.

Valtonous: What about the footnotes being after the 'credits'?

nightelf37: I had notes after them, okay?

Valtonous: And Tychophon's initial diminutive size?

nightelf37: 54 cm, his height, is a little below two feet. And the ponies are approximately 4 feet tall, if the Death Battle episode featuring Starscream and Rainbow Dash is anything to go by. Now, no more questions. Sorry if the chapter's absolutely horrible. Just needed to get these ponies out of my head. See ya on Third!


	7. Chapter 6: TCO: Pirate Captain

Valtonous: Hey. What are you doing here?

nightelf37: This is my fic. I have the right to update it whenever I please.

Valtonous: It's just that—

nightelf37: Just shut up. Remember, only the plot and OCs belong to me, though I did base the former on the second _Pirates of the Carribean_ film.

Random Fact: To expectorate is to cough up and eject by spitting.

Chapter 6: TCO: Pirate Captain

Part I. Where is Data-me?

"So if there was a Data version of Sora when you had the journal scanned, even though we had managed to make a copy of it, was there also a Data version of me?"

"Why, yes."

I was conversing with Jiminy Cricket, who used the discs Gregorio and Yoris once used to store their weapons while they assumed human forms to jump from wherever Mickey was to my bag and back whenever he pleased, though is mostly sticking with Mickey for the time being. I was leaning next to the shelf where Gallico was and Jiminy stood next to the adoptable.

"Your data self was created alongside Data-Sora. It was a bit tricky to give him his shield and Gun of Light, but we managed to do so and the two have met up quite early. Stuck together too even after getting sent to Traverse Town."

Jiminy then proceeded to tell me everything the data counterparts of me and Sora have been through. I noted each of the differences. Like in Traverse Town, only Cid and Donald's nephews were seen, no trace of anybody else aside from the bugs. In Wonderland, Data-Sora would've made a lot of mistakes were it not for my data self. And in Olympus Coliseum, Cloud was encountered, but not Barret.

For some reason, my data self had memories that were muddled in me when I traveled while Jiminy wrote the journal he ad been fixing at that time. Just as the cricket finished talking about Agrabah, he seemed to pause.

"What happened next? Wait is my data self still around? Is he in the PDA Data-Sora is in?" I wasn't particularly excited, just curious.

Jiminy seemed to look down as if recalling a bad memory, "He's…gone."

"How?"

"You see, before this, Maleficent had sent Pete to check out Disney Castle. That was when King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and I were scanning my journal and overseeing your data-selves' endeavors. When the computer took us in, it took him in as well. He then called for Maleficent, who entered via magic."

"What about Xin and Atumnus?"

"Well, from what King Mickey managed to get from her, those two were busy at making good with making the Castle that Never Was their own, with the assistance of some other members of the former Crescent Alliance we never managed to encounter. Anyway, upon encountering her in Agrabah after cornering Pete…"

KHKHKHKHKH

_Long ago, back in Data-Agrabah…_

_"All right, Pete! You're through running."_

_Data-Sora and Data-Rael thought they had cornered the huge oaf. However…_

_"Heh heh heh. Who said anything about running?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"Uh-oh.", gulped Data-Rael._

_"All right, come on out and show him who's boss...Maleficent."_

_As if on cue, she appeared. Immediately, the two heroes entered defensive stances._

_"Who are you?", asked Data-Sora._

_"An amusing jest, boy, but one I will not abide. If you desire a reminder of my power... Then I shall give you one!"_

_Maleficent raised her staff high and it flashed, sending the two heroes backward, their weapons sent flying. The Keyblade struck the sand keys-down and the Gun of Light joined it as it hit the shaft, then fell on the sand as well. This caught her attention. "Isn't that odd?"_

_The two heroes looked in horror as Maleficent used her staff to float the two weapons over to her, its orb glowing with a greenish aura. She then sliced the staff in the air and the two weapons shattered into pieces, shocking them beyond belief. _

_Maleficent laughed as the shards fell around her. "So we see, 'twas but a lie. And now that it's gone, this entire world shall be mine to rule." A horde of Shadow Heartless appeared around her as the two tried to stand. "Yes, my loyal minions. Drag all that you see into deepest darkness!"_

_The two shielded themselves as the Shadows pounce but were dismissed thanks to a timely arrival from Data-Riku and King Mickey._

_"You okay?", Data-Riku asked._

_The two looked up and smiled, "Riku…Mickey!", Data-Sora cried out._

_"Just in time.", Data-Rael said as their two saviours nodded to them._

_"Maleficent. What are you doing here in the datascape?", Mickey asked._

_"'Date escape'? Spare me your dull details." Apparently, Maleficent wasn't tech-wise._

_"But since you're wonderin', it was all my idea, you bozo.", Pete supplied, then began to explain. It was a lengthy one, but it did explain it all. "And there ya have it. We's been diggin' around in here ever since. Turns out this place connects right to that there castle o' yours. Or at least it DID, before I took control of the only way out."_

_"So you're the one who cut the link!", deduced Data-Rael._

_"Rest assured, both worlds shall be mine before long.", said Maleficent "Once I have immersed this one in darkness, I can send my Heartless horde back into your castle!"_

_"No!", gasped Mickey._

_"The long slumber has ended, and a new era has begun—one where all worlds belong to me! But my worlds must be free of light, and yours shine far too brightly. This time, it is you who will sleep!"_

_"Wrong.", Data-Riku stated as he stepped forward. "This is one world I won't let you touch!"_

_"Hmph! Foolish boy!" Before she could aim her staff, my data self had moved in the way, shield up. She fired a bolt of green energy that struck the shield, then she made another slashing movement and it shattered just like the Gun of Light and Keyblade. She then fired once again at Data-Rael…and the blow pierced straight through the stomach. But instead of any bodily fluids, to her surprise, what was there were white-blue blocks with ones and zeroes floating near it and winking out one by one._

_"Hmm…it looks like whatever you said might be true.", she said to Mickey. From what she knew, humans don't "bleed" like my data self was right now. "Anyways…" She then aimed her staff at Data-Riku and restrained his movements, ignoring his grunt of futile resistance. _

_"Riku!", Mickey called out._

_"Now, you boy... You belong to the darkness, not the light. I shall take this one with me. I am sure he will prove...useful." She and Data-Riku then vanished in a dark portal._

_"Check, AAAND mate! So long, suckers.", Pete added before leaving as well in his own way._

_"No! Riku…"_

_"Ngggh…"_

_Data-Sora quickly turned to Data-Rael, who was slowly fading. "Let's get you back!"_

KHKHKHKHKH

"And then we took your data self back to Disney Castle, where we tried our best to get your data self fixed up. However, it turns out that he was so damaged that he was existing on borrowed time. Then King Mickey took over from there. Data-Sora shortly followed and we only noticed because your data self notified us."

"Are you sure that was the data version of me?", I interrupted. "Because I know for sure I would never do something like that."

"Who knows? Anyway, before Donald and Goofy went after, your data self volunteered to serve as 'mission control'. Eventually, after rescuing Data-Riku, he…broke down thanks to his 'wounds'. Not even fixing the journal, thus resetting everything back to normal, brought him back."

He then explained what Data-Sora went through in Castle Oblivion, his journey there obviously different from ours. The longer he explained, the longer I began to worry for Sora, the real one, as I turned and watched him play at the Command Board with my two male Neopets, the two female ones watching from the sidelines. My attention was piqued again when he mentioned something that brought Roxas to my mind. I also got a bit confused when Data-Sora and King Mickey reached (Data-)Naminé, since we resolved that little issue of him thanking her.

"Hold on a second. About Data-me. Did he ever…"

"Have any message to pass on to you before he…ceased to be?", Jiminy finished.

"Yes."

The cricket put one finger to his chin in deep thought. "Well, he did have one thing to say."

"What?"

"That 'You are better than you think you are.'"

"That's it?" Jiminy nodded. "Oh. I see."

Suddenly, a voice spoke through the PA. It was Kairi. "Attention, all crew members! We have approached the next world. Port Royal." A second later, I heard a hushed voice. "Did I do it right?"

"Could use a little more work, but you're doing fine." It was Wizard.

I then turned to the CRD, which also stood next to Gallico, and it reacted before dispensing one Crystal Ring.

"Looks like it's time for us to go.", I said as the Command Board was packed up.

"Yup.", Jiminy agreed. "I better get back to King Mickey. See ya!" With that, he jumped into one of my bag's pockets, where the 'portal disc' was.

Part II. Never Trust a Pirate

Port Royal…

Using the Transwarp Room, we teleported down to the captain's cabin of the _Black Pearl_. The Neopet with me this time was Aquanax.

"Hold on.", said Jerry as we realized the floor was not straight. "Is it supposed to be like this?"

"No," said Sora.

"It seems to me that the ship is ashore.", mused Aquanax as we walked out to the deck. As we looked around, indeed it was true. However, the tide was coming in and we would soon be sailing. Just then, we heard voices. We looked off to the side and saw two pirates.

One of them was a tall skinny man with blond hair. He wore a faded blue-green coat, a red shirt, and a long faded red scarf draped over his gray pants. He had a small mustache, a short beard, and a wooden right eye.

The other was a short, round man with balding gray hair and a short black beard. He wore a faded blue coat, a shirt torn down to his waist, a torn neckerchief, brown trousers soaked in chamberlye, and a faded black leather belt.

These two were vaguely familiar to me, then I remembered as Sora jumped down and summoned his Keyblade. "Hey!", I called as the two turned around and my Scan identified their names to be Ragetti and Pintel. "Weren't you two part of Barbossa's crew?!"

"What are you doing here?!", Sora demanded as the two pirates turned around and scrambled behind the ropes and were joined by the rest save for me.

"Well, that's true.", said Ragetti, the slimmer one. "We **were **part of Barbossa's crew, but we're freelancing pirates now." Just then, his eye popped out of his socket, causing Kairi and me to put on a face of disgust.

"And now we're going to steal Captain Jack's ship.", said Pintel, the balding one.

"Are any of them Jack?" asked Aquanax as she pointed to the forest. Suddenly, out of there came several people. I deduced them to be sailors or pirates.

"Nope.", I said. But one of them was—

"Will?", gasped Sora. "What are you doing here?"

"Long story."

"We have to get out of here!", said another pirate. He had a ruddy complexion, a portly build, "muttonchops" facial hair, and an officer's uniform that was torn and tattered in places.

"Not without Jack, Mr. Gibbs."

"Is that him?" asked Jerry as he pointed down the beach. Emerging there was indeed Jack Sparrow. Seconds later, we saw that after him was an army of island natives. And they seemed to be out for his blood.

"Time to go." Everybody scurried onto the ship and started to get ready to sail off.

"We're leaving him behind?", asked Wizard.

"I'm sure he'll catch up.", said Lea.

Just as she got on with the others, Aquanax then jumped on the railing, took out her cannon, and fired at the natives, sending a few of them aside. From what I saw, her cannon seemed to fire spheres of pure energy. All the while, Jack continued to run.

"Good thinking.", I told my Neopet as she aimed for the ground at their feet.

Eventually, Jack passed a dog, then ran into the sea—leaving the natives behind as Aquanax continued firing on them—and swam until he clung to a net on the side of the ship.

"Alas, my children.", said Jack. "This is the day you shall always remember as the day that you almost—" He was interrupted by a wave splashing him from head to toe. He continued halfheartedly, "…caught Captain Jack Sparrow."

As he climbed aboard, Aquanax ceased firing as Mr. Gibbs made a suggestion. "Let's put some distance between us and this island and head out to open sea."

"Yes to the first, yes to the second, but only insofar as we keep to the shallows as much as possible.

"Now, that seems a bit contradictory, Captain."

"I have every faith in your reconciliatory navigational skills, Master Gibbs. Now, where is that monkey? I want to shoot something." Just then, he noticed us and Will. "William. Zola. Laer."

As I groaned out loud, the Key Bearer retorted, "For the last time, it's **Sora**!"

"If you say so. What might I ask brings the lot of you here?"

"Elizabeth is in danger.", Will said.

"Have you considered keeping a more watchful eye on her?", Jack asked as he moved off. "Maybe just lock her up somewhere?"

Will followed him. "She is locked up in a prison, bound to hang for helping you."

"There comes a time when one must take responsibility for one's mistakes."

Will then snatched a sword off a nearby pirate and brought it to Jack's throat. "I need that compass of yours, Jack. I must trade it for her freedom."

Jack moved the sword away and turned to—"Mr. Gibbs?"

"Captain? "

"We have a need to travel upriver."

"By need, do you, mean a trifling need? Fleeting, as in, say, a passing fancy?"

"No, a resolute and unyielding need." Gibbs looked worried at this.

"What we need to do is make sail for Port Royal with all haste.", Will cut in.

"William... I shall trade you the compass, if you will help me..." He then took a drawing of a key in a piece of cloth out of his pocket. "…to find this."

"You want me to find this." Will indicated the key on the drawing.

"No. You want you to find this. Because the finding of this finds you incapacitorially finding and/or locating in your discovering the detecting of a way to save your dolly belle ol' what's-her-face. Savvy?"

Will took the cloth. "This is going to save Elizabeth."

"Huh? What's going on?", Aquanax asked me.

"I haven't a clue."

Jack then asked Will another question. "How much do you know about Davy Jones?"

"Not much. Why?"

Jack then turned to the rest of us. "What about you seven?"

"No idea.", Sora and Kairi said in unison.

"Maybe I have." Lea.

"I haven't." Jerry.

"All I know about him is that whenever somebody is thrown off a ship and into the sea—" Wizard.

"They're said to be 'sent to Davy Jones' Locker'." Aquanax.

"What they said." Me.

"Good."

KHKHKHKHKH

As we sailed (luckily, I had brought enough food so we didn't need to eat with the rest of the crew), there were a few things that happened along the way. First, after Aquanax repelled for good the pirates' notions of petting her, we took to the longboats and headed up the Pantano River into Cypress Forest, for a meeting with the voodoo priestess Tia Dalma, who told us about the tale of (this world's) Davy Jones.

She revealed that Jones, once in love, tried to spare himself the heartbreak of losing his beloved by cutting out his own heart, and locking it away in a chest. She also informed us that Jones keeps the key about his person at all times, then offered him a jar of dirt explaining that, as Jones can only set foot on land once every ten years, Jack should keep land about him for protection. Dalma then divined the location of the _Flying Dutchman_, for which the _Pearl_ set sail.

Once we were back on the _Pearl_, Jack explained to us that thirteen years ago, he made a bargain with Jones. For raising the _Pearl_, he would work for him after thirteen years. If Will settled this debt, Jack would give him the compass.

Eventually, during a storm, we saw a ship broken on the reefs. Jack said that that was Jones' ship: the _Flying Dutchman_. I was suspicious however, but did not voice my opinion as Will volunteered to row over and search the ship until he found the key, taking down anything that would stand in his way. Sora, Kairi, and Wizard decided to accompany him as there wasn't room for all of us. Aquanax wanted to go, but I did not allow her.

Eventually, the party of four reached the boat on stepped onto the ruined deck.

"This is where Davy Jones is?", asked Sora.

"He should be.", said Will.

"Sora! Will!", called Kairi. Out of nowhere, people who looked like they were part of the sea appeared out of nowhere. Then, large dark red crabs with the Heartless emblem on their back shells came out of the ground.

"Looks like Davy Jones has control of the Heartless!" , Wizard deduced as everybody took out their weapons.

The battle was swift and decisive; while the Heartless were taken care of, the crew weren't and they were quickly defeated and detained.

KHKHKHKHKH

Back on the _Pearl_…

A shiver went down my spine. And it wasn't because of the storm as that had subsided shortly. As I stood next to Jack, I was looking at the _Flying Dutchman_ through my binoculars and saw a strange-looking man. From what I could see, his head resembled a cephalopod with a "beard" of approximately fifty tentacles hanging from his mottled, green-skinned face. His pirate hat was covered with barnacles and as he turned around I saw a prominent sac bulging from his head, which looked like the back portion of am octopus. There was a siphon located on the left side of his face, which seemed to up for his lack of a human nose.

As he seemed to turn to face me, I lowered the binocs, only to then see him right up close and personal. I shrieked as I backed away, fell onto my butt, and saw more of this man of the sea. He had a crustacean-style claw for his left arm and a long tentacle-like index finger on his right hand. His right leg resembled a crab's, which in turn resembled a peg leg.

He wore a faded blue coat, a light gray one-breasted waistcoat and dark gray breeches, all covered in barnacles. On his left leg, which remained human-like, he wore a leather boot. A dark red sash and a leather belt with a patinated buckle completed this suit. He also had a barnacle-encrusted wooden stick to use as a crutch. My Scan told me that this was Davy Jones.

Then, more pirates that looked like they were one with the sea emerged and held everybody hostage, even Lea and Jerry as I saw a faint Suvio Permi aura around them. Jones, ignoring me and my defiant Acara next to me, who did not make a move but retained a stance, turned to face Jack.

"You have a debt to pay, Jack.", said Jones in a slightly nasal voice as the pirate captain backed away. "You've been Captain of the _Black Pearl_ for thirteen years. That was our agreement." Crab-like Heartless then appeared around us for good measure, which my Scan identified as Vice Grips.

"Are those Heartless?" Jack asked.

"Yes they be. Now come."

"Technically, I was only captain for two years, then I was viciously mutinied upon."

"Then you were a poor captain, but a captain nonetheless. Have you not introduced yourself all these years as 'Captain Jack Sparrow'?" Jones's crew all laughed at this.

"Yeah, I gave you payment. Four souls to serve on your ship are already over there." I raised my eyebrows in shock; he just basically sold out Will and my friends!

"One soul is not equal to another!"

"Aha! So we've establish my proposal is sound in principle, now we're just haggling over price."

Jones stopped for a few seconds to ponder about this. "Price?"

"Just how many souls do you think my soul is worth?"

"One hundred souls. Three days."

"You're a darling, mate. Send me back the four, I'll get started right off." He proceeded to walk away but was stopped by a pirate whose head resembled a hammerhead shark.

"I keep them, a good, faith payment. That leaves you only ninety-six to go. Haha, haha."

"Have you not met Will Turner? He's noble, heroic, a terrific soprano. Worth at least four, maybe three and a half. And did I happen to mention... he's in love. With a girl. Due to be married. Betrothed. Dividing him from her and her from him would only be half as cruel as actually allowing them to be joined in holy matrimony. Aye? There is also the boy Sora, he—"

Jones interrupted Jack with a gasped, "Sora!"

"Oh, you know him!"

"Yes. He is a threat to us."

"Us?", asked Jerry.

"Yes, I am working with Maleficent." I frowned at this. "And Sora is much of a threat. And I am guessing that there is a girl with him."

"Yes, there would be.", Jack said and Jones gave a smile. "Her name's Kairi. The fourth is a fellow named Wizard."

"Jack, I do not usually negotiate but, you have brought me four people, two of which are important. So, you now have four days to get forty-six more souls."

"So it's fifty?! Fifty's fine."

"I wonder, Sparrow... can you live with this? Can you condemn four innocent people—two of them friends—to a lifetime of servitude in your name while you roam free?"

Jack thought about this for a second before saying, "Yep. I'm good with it. Shall we seal it in blood, I mean, uh, ink?" Jones answered by grabbing Jack's left hand with his tentacled one and "shook on it". "Ah."

"Good, you have four days Jack.", and with that, he, his crew, and the Heartless disappeared.

"Mr. Gibbs, now we—" Jack was slapped with an oar from Jerry, who then used the Force to 'pick him up' and 'lift' him an inch from the wooden floor. None of his mates made a move to help their captain as I got up, my fear washed away and replaced with proper anger.

"What did you do that for?", demanded my black friend.

"Rather them than me.", was all Jack said. Two more weapons were aimed at him; my DirLuxGun and Aquanax's cannon, its owner jumping onto his shoulder and aiming her weapon at his head. Lea followed by coming up from behind and holding his chakrams to Jack's neck.

"We're going to get them back. Those who helped you."

"Can't. The Dutchman's gone." With that, Jerry 'dropped' Jack, but the rest of us kept our weapons on him.

"Jack Sparrow.", Lea stated as he brought the spikes of his chakrams closer. "We are going to get Sora, Kairi, and the others back. 'Cause if we don't, this Davy Jones fellow will be the least of your worries. Got it memorized?" After seeing Jack nod, he let him go.

I eventually dismissed my DirLuxGun and, after some prodding from me, Aquanax put away her cannon, then jumped off of Jack, though she continued to glare at Jack as he called for Mr. Gibbs, her eyes retaining a red hue, which goes for all Acaras whenever they are angry.

"To Tortuga.", Jack called, and that's where we sailed.

"You know, I'm starting to appreciate the Krawk Island pirates more and more.", the Acara said.

Part III. Sailing and Recruitment

At the _Flying Dutchman_…

While Will and Wizard were sent to work out on the deck, Sora and Kairi—being Keyblde wielders and thus not trusted as much—were stuck on kitchen duty, with ten crew members guarding them.

"How could he do that?", Sora wondered to himself as he clean a plate that was covered in barnacles. That was as clean as it would ever be. Before they were sent to work, Jones had told them that they were sold out by Jack Sparrow.

"I thought you said, Sora, that he was a good man." replied Kairi as she took the plate and used the rag to dry it, then placed it atop the growing pile of dishes that had grown over the last two hours.

"I thought he was. Did he even ever thought of me as a friend, or…I can't even think of what he thought of me."

"What do you think will happen to the others?"

"By now, Jerry would probably beat up Jack. Or something. Don't know what the others would do. Rael would probably just hope the best for us."

"What about his Neopets?"

"No idea either. Although they might probably support his opinion too."

KHKHKHKHKH

At the _Black Pearl_…

Jerry, Aquanax and I waited at the deck of Jack Sparrow's ship while he, Mr. Gibbs, and Lea looked for souls to harvest for Davy Jones. I didn't go because I wasn't comfortable with such an unfriendly place without Sora, Wizard, or even Kairi. Aquanax didn't go either because she knew I wouldn't let her.

As for Jerry, as much as he wanted to discover the town, he didn't want to leave me alone with some of the other pirates, especially as some of them were still looking at Aquanax, thankfully resisting the urge to pet her. None of us spoke for a while before Jerry decided to start.

"Rael."

"Yeah?"

"About Jack Sparrow. What is your opinion on him?"

"My opinion on him? Of course I'm mad at him for selling out Sora, Wizard, and Kairi."

"And Will?"

"A bit. Don't really know the guy that much compared to—"

"Okay, I get it. But you don't seem to be as mad as you should be when discovering this sort of thing."

"I know." I gave a sigh. "I guess there are two reasons behind this. One, I'm confident in Sora's skills…" I then added under my breath. "In spite of his selective stupidity." I resumed normal tone. "And that he'd give Jack what for once he and the others return. Two, there's a nagging thought in my head that says everything will turn out all right and that Jack has something up his sleeve to get them back."

Just then, I heard music begin to play as well as general scuffling in the distance. Well, rougher scuffling than is normal from Tortuga as far as I'm concerned. I was eventually bored after a while, so Jerry managed to convince me and Aquanax to play "Texas Hold 'Em" with him and three other pirates. (1) I was the third to be eliminated, the first two being two of the _Black Pearl'_s crew.

After getting up from the table and idling at the side of the ship and next to the ramp, I saw Jack Sparrow, Mr. Gibbs, and Lea return, with a few other men behind. Just then, Jack and Gibbs stopped for a moment as one of the men approached him. After a while, Mr. Gibbs went off to the Pearl, bypassing me as he held a bottle of rum, which I wouldn't dream of drinking and Aquanax—having lost—bypassed me and went down the ramp, telling that she'll tell me what was going on as she went. I worried a bit, but decided not to worry too much.

After a while, Aquanax returned and told me what had happened; some lady named Elizabeth is looking for her beloved William Turner. I figured it was Elizabeth Swann, but wasn't sure yet. Jack told her that he had been "press-ganged" into Davy Jones's crew. Elizabeth wanted to find Will, and Jack advised her to help him find a chest, which holds the "still-beating" heart of Davy Jones. He then provided her his compass, which pointed to the thing its holder wants most in this world, which indeed was what Gregorio partially deduced the last time Sora, Kairi, and I went to Port Royal.

Soon, Jack and his crew boarded the ship. Accompanying him was a man who seemed to be a naval officer now disgraced with his clothes in rags, and is also carrying a goat. Following him was a somewhat familiar person. In spite of the pirate getup, I knew it was a woman. Just as I figured out who she was, she recognized me first.

"Rael!"

"Elizabeth Swann!", I gasped. "Never thought I'd see you here! Or like this."

"It's kind of a long story."

"I guess I got time for it.", I replied as we walked to where Jerry was playing against one of the pirates.

"What are you doing here? And where's Sora?"

I made up a few things. "Traveling as always, though on a new journey. As for Sora—"

"Woo-hoo!", Jerry cried out. Elizabeth and I turned to see him take in the pot, and that the other pirate was left with nothing. After picking up all the won munny and putting it in a pouch, he turned to me and greeted. "Hey there! Who's the girl?"

"Hey, Jerry. This is Elizabeth Swann." I turned to her as Lea walked over to join us while the othe pirate left. "Elizabeth, this is Jerry, a new companion of ours. And this is Lea, another friend."

"I see. Where were we?"

"Oh, right. Sora's whereabouts."

After first introducing Lea and Elizabeth to each other, I told her what I knew, that Sora, Kairi, and another friend of ours Wizard were here, and that they were also also with Will, but withheld the fact that it was Jack Sparrow who was the cause.

On our way to Tortuga, the captain had asked me and the others that should anyone ask about Will Turner or Sora or his friends, especially if it's Elizabeth Swann, we shouldn't tell him that he did it. When we had asked why, he said that his "selling them out " was part of his plan, and that he rarely tells anybody his plans. I asked further, but he would say no more.

I could only hope that Jack would pull through. Or that Sora, Kairi, and Wizard would make it out with Will alive.

KHKHKHKHKH

In the middle of the night…

Will and Wizard snuck into the kitchen and awoke Kairi and Sora.

"Sora. Kairi. Wake up.", Will hissed as they rose from their sleep. "I know how we can defeat Davy Jones." As they followed, he began to explain what he knew. "Long ago, Jones stuck his heart in a chest, and buried it on an island. If we get the key off Jones, we can stab the heart and stop him."

"He doesn't have a heart?", Sora inquired as Nobodies came to his mind. "Oh, wait…right." He then remembered hearing the tale from Tia Dalma.

"Wait, how do you know the key is on him?", Kairi wanted to know, then recalled Tia Dalma's words as well. "Oh wait…"

"He found it out in a game of liar dice.", Wizard provided. "He keeps the key around his neck." Just then, as they came above deck, they saw a crewman. Immediately, Sora and Kairi summoned their Keyblades. "No, wait. We can trust him."

"This is my father.", Will explained.

"Father?" the two Key Bearers said in unison as he looked at them. He seemed to be more…human than the other crewmen. Not to mention the slight resemblance to Will.

"Bootstrap Bill at your service.", he said.

"I thought he was dead."

"As did I.", agreed Will, then turned to his father. "So is he asleep?"

"He should be." Bootstrap pointed to the captain's cabin, then Sora, Kairi, Wizard, and Will walked through while Bootstrap went to the help to relieve the crewman on the wheel.

Inside the cabin, the four could see Jones asleep over the organ. As they tuned around to his face, they saw the key. Will tried to grab it, but couldn't because of the tentacle beard. So he took a quill and a stick on the organ and motioned the tendrils out of the way. As he did that, Sora gingerly reached for the key, using another stick to help Will.

"I sure wish Jerry had been here.", Kairi muttered.

"Why?", asked Will as he moved more of the tentacles about.

"He has a special ability that helps him move things with his mind."

"Like one of Sora's other friends? Sir Pollonaire, I believe was his name." Just then, a tentacle dropped on the keys and Jones stirred. However, a music locket suddenly opened and played a soothing tune, which lulled Jones back to sleep.

"Yes. Like him."

Sora managed to get the Key and Will put a rolled up piece of cloth in its place. With their task done, they walked outside and met up with Bootstrap. Will then took the key from Sora and put it around his neck.

"Here." Bootstrap handed Will a knife. "Take this, too. It was always in my blood to die at sea."

Will took the knife and unsheathed it. "It's not a fate you had to choose for yourself either."

"I... I could say I did what I had to when I left you to go pirating. But it would taste a lie to say it wasn't what I wanted. You owe me nothing. Now, go."

"They'll know you helped me."

Bootstrap gave a short chuckle. "What more can they do to me?"

"Wait.", said Kairi. "So how are we supposed to get to the island?"

"You hide in the open mouth at the bow of the figurehead. When Davy Jones wakes up in the morning, he will panic and will go to the island. Once you're there, you can get the chest."

Will held up the knife his father gave him as the three proceeded to hide "I take this with a promise. I'll find a way to sever Jones's hold on you and not rest until this blade pierces his heart. I will not abandon you." He paused for a long while. "I promise." Finally, he hid with the others.

In the morning, indeed all of what Bootstrap said came true and was sent to the brig for it.

KHKHKHKHKH

During our time at the _Black Pearl_, as I treated myself to some pills to counteract the effects of seasickness, I, Aquanax, Jerry, and Lea learned the following; Will Turner was working for 'Lord Cutler Beckett of the East India Trading Company' and he told no one about it, and Beckett desires the compass so he can find the chest with Davy Jones's heart. Whoever possesses Jones's heart controls him, and Beckett desires to use that to rid the world of piracy. Normally, I would consider it a good thing, but after remembering that Jack Sparrow is a pirate, I thought otherwise.

We also learned that the man who looked like a former naval officer was James Norrington, who also loved Swann and has a vendetta with Jack Sparrow. However, there was something I had to take note of; where was the Royal Navy when the Heartless attacked? We never got the answer to that question, and not even Norrington would say a word.

Along the way, Lea noticed that Elizabeth seemed to harbor some feelings for Jack and they even did some sweet talk with one another tempting each other to do something they don't seem to want; For Elizabeth, a chance of a life of freedom as a pirate, and for Jack, a chance to do the right thing.

Finally, we made it to land, and Jack went to fetch his jar of dirt. After that, on the small boat sailed Jack, Ragetti, Pintel, and me. Aquanax wanted to go and had coaxed me to join. And I had to tolerate the middle two's bickering on the proper pronunciation of "kraken" along the way. Eventually, we made it to shore and as Jack and I got off, Ragetti and Pintel went back to fetch Elizabeth, Lea, Jerry, and Norrington.

Once we were all ashore, we walked across the island, Elizabeth leading us with the compass as we eventually found the chest's location and started digging. After hitting something solid, we uncovered the chest and opened it. However, all we could see was letters and such. But after Jack shifted them aside, we could see a smaller chest inside it. Jack picked that up and we all laid our ears to it…and heard a heartbeat.

"It's real.", gasped Elizabeth.

"A beating heart outside of a body.", gasped Aquanax.

"You actually were telling the truth.", said Norrington.

"I do that quite a lot, yet people are still surprised.", Jack told us.

"With good reason.", a familiar voice came.

We all turned to see Will, Sora, Kairi, and Wizard. All of them were dripping wet, but safe and sound.

Part IV. Swashbuckling

"Will.", Elizabeth cried out as she ran to him. "You're alright, thank God! I came to find you." As they kissed, Norrington and Jack watched jealously out of the corner of their eye.

"How did you get here?", Jack decided to break the tension.

Will boasted, "Sea turtles, mate. A pair each strapped to our feet."

"And I'm not riding them ever again.", complained Sora. I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not. I decided to ask him later.

"Not so easy is it?"

"But I do owe you thanks, Jack."

"You do?"

"After you tricked me onto that ship, to square your debt with Jones…"

Elizabeth immediately turned to Jack and gasped, "What?"

Jack parroted in a high-pitched tone of voice, "What?"

"I was reunited with my father.", Will finished.

"Oh, well, you're welcome, then."

Elizabeth broke off from Will and approached Jack angrily. "Everything you said to me, every word was a lie!"

"Pretty much. Time and tide, love."

As Elizabeth then turned to me, Jerry quickly came into my defense and said, "We were sworn to secrecy."

Just then, Will unsheathed his father's knife and knelt next to the chest. "Oi, what are you doing?"

"I'm going to kill Jones." Jack took out his sword and leveled it at Will.

"Can't let you do that, William. 'Cause if Jones is dead, who's to call his terrible beastie off the hunt, eh?" Will looked like he's relented and stood up, key still in hand. "Now, if you key." Jack outstretched a hand to receive it.

Will's answer was to snatch Elizabeth's sword from her sheath and he aimed it at Jack. "I keep the promises I make, Jack. I intend to free my father. And I hope you're here to see it."

Norrington then took out his own sword out and pointed it at Will. "I can't let you do that, either. So sorry."

"I knew you'd warm up to me eventually.", Jack said as Norrington swung his sword to him while Will turned his to Norrington, forming a triangle.

"Lord Beckett desires the contents of that chest. I deliver it: I get my life back."

"Ah. The dark side of ambition."

"Oh, I prefer to see it as the promise of redemption."

As the three then went into a three-way fight with each other, Lea meanwhile Lea updated the others on current events. "Sora, Kairi, Wizard. Davy Jones is in league with Maleficent and Xin. If we claim that heart, we can use it to our advantage. Whoever controls the heart controls Jones." And as the three fought, Sora let out a grin, summoned his Keyblade, and charged in as well.

Will told Elizabeth to guard the chest, and Sora asked Kairi to do the same, but they didn't and followed. Still deciding that somebody has to stay behind, we played rock-paper-scissors to decide. I "got the short end" and had to wait while the rest (including Aquanax) went after the four.

"I need that heart, too!", I heard Jack say as the fight took them to the beach. "Don't worry, Will! You'll get it when I'm done."

"This is not funny! This is no way for grown men to—Oh, fine!", Elizabeth went in a tirade. "Let's just pull out our swords and start banging away at each other, that's all there ever is. I've had it! I've had it with wobbly-legged, rum-soaked pirates!" She and Kairi soon stopped as the former began throwing rocks at them. Jerry and Wizard also stopped as they thought of what they should do. Aquanax was considering running in and try to get the key, but she had no idea who she should assist; Will, Jack, or Sora. She definitely wasn't going to side with Norrington.

Soon, Ragetti and Pintel joined them, though only Jerry noticed. "How'd this go all screwy?", Pintel wondered.

"Well, each wants the chest for hisself, don't 'e?", Ragetti explained. "Mr. Norrington, I think, is trying to regain a bit o' honor. Ol' Jack's looking to trade it, save his own skin. And Turner there—I think 'e's trying to settle some unresolved business 'twixt him and his twice-cursed pirate father. As for the spiky-haired kid, I haven't a clue as to his motive."

"He needs it because Jones is working with an enemy of ours and we can use it as leverage.", Jerry filled in.

"Sad.", mused Pintel as Jerry and Ragetti nodded in agreement.

Then Jerry raised his eyebrows. "Hold on a second. How do you know everything that's happened so far, especially the 'twice-cursed pirate father' part?" Neither Ragetti nor Pintel answered him and the former just shrugged his shoulders.

"This is madness!", Elizabeth was crying out as she continued to throw rocks.

Kairi meanwhile wondered, "Why isn't Sora using any of his magic or abilities?"

"Probably a sense of honor or fair play.", guessed Wizard.

"That chest must be worth more than a shiny penny.", Pintel said to his fellow pirate.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk.", agreed Ragetti. "Terrible temptation."

"If we was any kind of decent, we'd remove temptation from their path." The two then looked at each other, laughed, then went for the chest. Jerry didn't follow them as he knew I stood guard. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to put up much of a fight as they came up from behind and delivered a powerful blow to my back, stunning me for a moment.

"Why do they have to do this?", wondered Kairi as she and the rest went after the four swordfighters. "He just wants to play pirate."

"Bloody pirates!", yelled Elizabeth. She had tried a fainting act, but they had been too focused on fighting and had failed to notice.

They then turned around, and saw the two pirates carrying the chest, with me in pursuit on board my hover scooter. They decided to follow, with the exception of Jerry and Aquanax, the latter already getting closer as she was four-legged even though she was shorter.

Soon enough, the "Sith" and the Acara caught up with the four as they made their way to a mill. At that point, Norrington was pursuing Jack up the stairs of the ruins of a bell tower and had managed to take the key from him. Will and Sora were right behind as Jerry decided to Force-jump to the top while Aquanax climbed up after the former naval officer.

Just then, Norrington shoved Jack off, who caught a bell rope and went down. At around the same time, Will held on to another and went up. Sora was about to grab on when Jack kicked him, sending him out of the bell tower and knocking him out. As for Aquanax, she caught sight of Will ascending and jumped onto her back as he swiped the key from Norrington, who pursued him all the way to the top and they took the fight outside.

As the two then clashed swords, Jerry joined in the battle as he went in between them. As he parried the swords of Turner and James, Aquanax did her best to hold on while trying to get the key. From her viewpoint, it'd be safer in her paws. Just as she managed to take it from Will's hands, both he and Norrington managed to knock Jerry out of the building.

They then noticed that the key was gone, saw Aquanax run for the mill's roof with the key in her mouth, and went after the feline Neopet. Jack however was expecting her, grabbed her by the body, took the key from her using his teeth, then chucked her at the oncoming Norrington and Will, but missed. She then fell onto Sora, knocking herself out and waking him in the process.

"Oww!", he gasped as he bolted up, sending the Acara falling to the ground, her head hitting the stone steps, which woke **her **up.

"What sort of sick man throws a cat at people?", she wondered as she rubbed her head.

"Hey, where's Jerry?"

"I'll go look for him.", the Acara offered before running off. "You get the key."

"Got it.", he said as he went to the bell tower to go up its stairs.

At that point, Will and Norrington pointed their swords at Jack, the latter having disarmed him. "Do excuse me while I kill the man who ruined my life.", said the former officer.

"Be my guest.", Will conceded.

"Let us examine that claim for a moment, former Commodore, shall we?", proposed Jack. "Who was it that at the very moment you had a notorious pirate safely behind bars saw fit to free said pirate and take your dearly beloved all to hisself…aye? So whose fault is it really that you've ended up a rum-pot deckhand what takes orders from pirates?"

"Enough!" Norrington cried out as he took a swipe at Jack, who somersaulted off the roof and safely landed on the ground. "Unfortunately, Mr. Turner…he's right!" He then proceeded to duke it out against Will.

After finding his sword and picking it up, Jack called up at Will, "Still rooting for you, mate!" That was when Jerry and Aquanax found him and they started clashing. Jerry didn't just use the Force to make an easy win since he was enjoying this too much, even though he had two weapons instead of one. As they clashed, Aquanax did her best to find an opening, but just as she saw the key around Jack's neck, she fell into a hole that turned out to be an empty grave. As Jerry and Jack fell into another empty grave, the Acara found something peculiar.

"Is that…maybe Sora could use this."

Meanwhile, said Key Bearer caught up with Will and Norrington, whose fight took them to the mill's wheel. As they jumped onto the wheel, the rotting wood gave and the wheel started to roll. As they continued to fight, the three in the graves popped themselves out and tried to hoist themselves out only for the wheel to roll over them and they got stuck, though Aquanax quickly got herself free and started to ride inside it. As for Jerry and Jack, they remained stuck and the key fell off Jack's neck and right into the Acara's waiting horn-like protrusions behind her ears as she did a short roll to catch them.

Above her, the fight atop the wheel was paused for a moment as Norrington, Will, and Sora hd to step around Jack's and Jerry's protruding legs. Evnetually, those two slid free behind Aquanax and ran for a moment inside the wheel before Jack got knocked out by a metal bar. Jerry bumped into him and the two fell off.

While that was happening, the rest of us caught up with and confronted Ragetti and Pintel as they carried the chest, bringing out our weapons. Unfortunately, Elizabeth didn't have hers, so she stood behind us.

We did pause for a moment to stare at the giant wheel rolling by, with Norrington and Will still sword-fighting, this time against Sora and Jerry and with their backs to each other. Jack was in close pursuit behind them and Aquanax rode the wheel's interior.

Before we could continue fighting, a hatchet thud into the nearest tree trunk. We all turned to see Jones's men coming right for us, thankfully without the Suvio Permi aura like last time. Immediately, even though we could've handled them, we turned tail and ran…after Ragetti and Pintel as they fled. However, they foolishly passed in between a tree, dropping the chest. We all stopped to try and get it only for the Jones's men to catch up with us, leaving us with no alternative but to fight.

Back at the wheel, Jack managed to catch up with the wheel and decided to have another go at running on the inside, taking the key from Aquanax and knocking her out of the wheel. In the middle of the fight, Sora slipped in his step and saw Jack with the key, then went in and fought with him, followed shortly after by Norrington as they clashed blades within the wheel's spokes while Jerry dueled against Will atop the wheel, with Aquanax following behind.

Meanwhile, as Ragetti, Pintel, and Elizabeth traded each others' swords while fighting off the seamen, I (having put away my scooter) stood back-to-back with Wizard and Kairi did likewise to Lea. Just then, a conch-headed pirate saw the chest unattended and took it chuckling. Only Lea was able to notice and broke off from Kairi as one of the seamen brought down his hatchet on where they were a second ago.

Back in the wheel, Jack managed to break the string the key was attached to and having got his prize, left the wheel quickly and as he came up behind Will and Jerry, then latched onto the leaves on a palm tree in time as the wheel rolled off a slope, too late for either fighter on the wheel to do anything about it. When the leaf Jack was holding broke off, he landed right on Aquanax, followed by a few coconuts. He then saw a seaman rushing through the trees with the chest in hand.

"Hmm." Jack hefted one of the fruits and threw it at the pirate, knocking him off his feet and knocking the seaman's head off. He then "accidentally" conked Aquanax with another coconut, and the last thing she saw before falling unconscious was him going for the chest.

KHKHKHKHKH

As we fled from the seemingly invulnerable seamen, we found the dropped chest and Ragetti and Pintel picked it up while we stalled for time. As we did, I—riding my scooter—caught sight of Aquanax and retrieved her as we all fled to the beach…where Vice Grip and Rapid Thruster Heartless awaited. Feeling in more comfortable territory, I used my Power Orb abilities to the fullest as I wiped out many at a time. A while later, the wheel caught up, with only Jerry atop it and Will inside it as it ran over some of our enemies and soon came to a stop, falling over to its side.

The rest of us watched this spectacle for a moment before resuming the fight, although I immediately went to aid Sora as he, Will, and Norrington got off of the wheel, obviously dizzy. I made quick work of a Vice Grip about to cut Sora's head off, then cast Esuna on him, hoping it would cure dizziness. Thankfully, it did as I noticed Will and Norrington go different ways, slicing away at some annoying Rapid Thrusters that circled their heads instead of attacking them, making me chuckle a bit as tweets sounded in my head.

"Thanks.", he told me.

"Don't mention it.", I replied.

"Uhh…why is she on your shoulder?"

I turned to my shoulder and indeed that was where Aquanax lay as she began to wake up. "Sora…", she began to say. "The heart…"

"Hmm?"

"I think Jack's got it."

"Let's go."

As the three of us did just that, I could see Will—no longer having Rapid Thrusters circling his head—stopping Ragetti and Pintel from ditching all of us by boat, Jerry running after Norrington (who no longer had any Rapid Thrusters either), and Lea, Wizard, and the girls fighting off the seamen and Heartless. It was absolute mayhem and I didn't know what happened next, but the next thing I knew, we were all at the boat fighting for our lives. And then Norrignton decided to be a hero by taking the chest and running off with it.

"What about the heart?" asked Will once he was gone.

"Don't worry.", assured Jack. "I have that covered."

"He sure does.", agreed Aquanax as some of us got into the boat. Since there wasn't enough room, I had to use the hover scooter to board the others and we soon made it back to the _Black Pearl_.

KHKHKHKHKH

"And then what happened?", I asked Aquanax as we sailed off of the island.

"It was crazy. Crazier than any of the fights we've been through back at Neopia.", she supplied. "I mean, how many fights can you say you've seen happen whilst inside a rolling wooden wheel, huh?"

"Yup. Crazier than fighting Unversed in a town of pastel-colored ponies, where at least a third of them are capable and brave enough to fight at some level."

"I don't think that qualifies as crazy."

"True."

Just then, the _Flying Dutchman_ came out of the water at the _Black Pearl_'s port side.

"Lord on high, deliver us.", muttered Mr. Gibbs as the seamen attempted to intimidate us.

"I'll handle this, mate.", said Jack Sparrow as we all brought out our weapons just in case. "Oi, fishface!", he called as he held up the jar of dirt. This caught Davy Jones's attention. "Lose something? Eh?", Jack continued, falling down the stairs in the process before getting up again, the jar intact. "Come to negotiate, eh, have you, you slimy git? Look what I got." He then decided to do a stupid statement dance mix. "I got a jar dirt! I got a jar of dirt! I got a jar of dirt! And guess what's inside it?"

He seemed to catch on as he yelled, "Jack Sparrow! Give me back my heart!" He then ordered the cannnons to be brought out.

"Hard to starboard.", Jack muttered.

"Hard to starboard.", Elizabeth muttered and the crew immediately got to work.

"Brace up the foreyard!", added Will as Mr Gibbs, who was on the wheel, began to steer the _Black Pearl_.

A few seconds later, the _Flying Dutchman_ began to open fire. Sora and company did their best to get the cannonballs to not hit the Pearl, especially Jerry who used the Force in earnest, 'catching' the balls and spinning to 'hurl' them back. A minute later, the cannonballs started coming at a moderately faster rate and as I went at the ship's stern at looked through my binoculars.

From what I could see, there were two "triple cannons" at the ship's front. "Oh, come on!", I complained. Just then I saw a cannonball head straight for me. "Fuck!", I swore as I dropped the binocs and summoned my shield. The projectile collided and I was sent flying for a bit before falling onto the deck and sliding across the floor, tripping up a few pirates before stopping a few inches short of a wall. "Oww…"

Kairi immediately came to my assistance and cast Cura on me, relieving me of my injuries as I dismissed my also-healed shield. "You okay, Rael?", she asked as she offered a hand.

"Not really.", I answered as I took it and got up. "I would've gotten a cannonball to the gut were it not for my shield. And it still hurts like hell."

"She's falling behind!", Elizabeth yelled. I struggled to get up and saw that indeed the _Flying Dutchman_ was.

"Aye, we've got her!", agreed Mr. Gibbs, having handed the wheel to somebody else.

"We're the faster?", asked Will.

"Against the wind, the _Dutchman _beats us, that's how she takes her prey. But with the wind…"

"We rob her advantage."

"Aye…"

Eventually, the _Dutchman_ seemed to cease its pursuit and one of the crewmen in the Jacob's ladders confirmed it, eliciting cheers from the _Black Pearl_'s crew. As they did that, Will went over to Jack—who still held the jar of dirt—to talk to him. "My father is on that ship. If we can outrun her, we can take her. We should turn and fight."

"Why fight when you can negotiate? All one needs is the proper leverage." All of a sudden, the ship collided with something and the jar slipped from Jack's hands, smashing on the deck. "Where is it? Where's the thump-thump?" There was nothing but dirt.

Part V: Battleship

"It was just a jar of dirt.", said Sora.

"That jar also had Davy Jones's **heart**!", explained the captain in a temporary state of panic.

"But wasn't it in the chest?" asked Wizard.

"That Norrington took?" added Elizabeth.

Jack quickly calmed down before explaining, "Well, while everyone was wasting breath on each other, I used the key to unlock the chest and place it in the jar."

"We must've hit a reef!", a crewman suddenly called.

"No.", muttered Will, then shouted, "It's not a reef!" He then ordered everybody to get away from the rail; the kraken was coming. He then started to give out orders for the ones manning the cannons and more of the crewmen also got their harpoons, aimed to defend the deck. He also instructed us to stand on guard, even as tentacles began to scale the ship as he spoke. Finally, he gave the signal and the cannons were fired, blowing at the tentacles they were aimed at, forcing them to fall back.

The crew cheered at this, but Will seemed to know better. "They'll be back. We have to get off the ship."

"There's no boats.", Lea stated and indeed, they were broken when the tentacles fell. I had an "oh crap" expression and turned to Sora. If worse comes to worst, we would have no choice but to flee. Like cowards. So we can find the next candidate. I could only hope it wouldn't come to that.

"Pull the grates! Get all the gunpowder onto the net in the cargo hold!" He then took a rifle from a passing crewman and handed one to Elizabeth.

As everybody got to work, we soon realized that we only had six kegs of gunpowder. Left with fewer alternatives, Will ordered them…to load the rum as well, much to the crew's dismay. A few minutes later, after the kegs were loaded into the net and hoisted up, the kraken's tentacles came up again. And this time, learning its lesson, it aimed straight for the cannons, destroying them, and started attacking the crewmen below and above.

I ordered Aquanax to stick close to me and watch my back; I wasn't going to let them take her and I wasn't gonna let myself get into a situation where I'd have to make sacrifices; we were in enough danger as it is. Sora and Kairi watched each other's backs, putting out as many spells as they could. Lea and Wizard were too, with the former throwing his chakrams around and keeping them from taking the crewmen.

We kept at this for a few minutes, and then as the kraken took the net of kegs, they exploded as one of Lea's returning chakrams hit it, resulting in a powerful explosion that burnt the tentacles far worse than the cannons and forced them to retreat once more.

Once the dust settled, we could see little fires everywhere and chunks of kraken here and there. As we got to work putting out the fires, a crewman asked, "Did we kill it?"

"No.", Mr. Gibbs answered. "We just made it angry."

As if on cue, the kraken rose once again. But this time, not all of its tentacles were not around the Pearl. This time, it rose at the starboard side, tipping the ship there, with many of its burnt tentacles stretched out and its mouth right at us. We turned around and then it roared, covering everybody in green glop save for me as I put up my shield and anybody who was behind me.

Jack then picked up something off the floor…it was a pirate hat. "Not so bad. Oh." He then shook the goop off of it, the put it on his head. "Hello, beastie."

Just as he drew his sword, I asked, "Your hat was with the kraken the entire time?"

"Not really, no. The first time you came here, I had lost it to Barbossa and I had only found it in Isla De Muerta after you left for the second time after we dumped those cursed medallions."

"Oh."

Just then, Davy Jones emerged from above the kraken, then jumped down to confront us. He then looked around, then located the shards of the jar of dirt, as well as the dirt it had carried. "Well, since none of you have me heart, I might as well kill all yer hides.", he declared. The kraken then brought down its tentacles, separating the rest of the crew and Sora, Kairi, and Lea from Jerry, Aquanax, me, Wizard, and Jack and shoved them belowdeck. And then a Beehive Barrier formed to ensure we were separated from them. "I shall deal with them later. But you, Jack. Just give me your soul."

"No.", the pirate captain refused. "I would rather die a painful death on me ship like a true pirate, than live serving aboard your ship, savvy?"

"If that be yer will, Sparrow, then who am I to argue?" Jones drew his rusty sword. "Kraken!" And then the fight began.

The kraken started to lift its tentacles and slammed them onto the deck, shaking us about. I saw one of them head for Wizard, but Jerry took the blow and it began to lift him up high and into its mouth. The "Sith" countered with a bolt of Force lightning., then teleported back on deck, where he took a hit from behind by Jones's claw. He fell to the floor and his cape billowed out to reveal something hidden there. It was a tie string leather bag around his neck. And it went thump-thump.

"The thump-thump!", called Jack.

"How did you get that?", I asked Jerry as I continued to shoot at the tentacles with fireballs.

"When I bumped into Norrington, I found the thump-thump in his person and…persuaded him to give it to me, then tricked him into thinking he still had it.", the "Sith" explained as he got up while Jones was dealt with by Jack.

_Oh. Mind trick._, I realized.

"Why did he have it?", asked Aquanax, then remembered hearing a bit of it from Ragetti and Pintel's talk. Even though she hadn't been paying attention, she caught their words. "Oh, right."

"I like how he thinks.", said Jack as everybody then eyed the heart.

Before they all (save for me) could jump in, Aquanax reached it first, but it slipped from her paws, flew into the air, and landed in a bucket at the other end of the deck. She then made a mad dash for it, only for Jones to grab her and pick her up, Jack now having to deal with the tentacles. She turned around with her cannon primed but he caught it with his claw and began to hold her up with it, firing point downward so that she could not use it and was upside down. Her next move was to puff her cheeks, which made Jones raise a brow in confusion, then she squirted water into his face (Acara Squirt), forcing him to let go of her and land on the deck cannon-end first.

As she flailed to get herself upright, I followed up my Shield Boomer on the kraken—rescuing Wizard and helping out Jerry in the process—with a series of shots on Jones, which was then followed up by a loud gunshot.

"Forgot about me, didn't you?", Jack asked as he held his pistol, its barrel smoking.

A Kraken tendril tried to crush him but Aquanax managed to right herself thanks to the ship rocking and blast it away with her cannon, severing it from the body. Jerry then 'grabbed' it and swung it at Jones, only for the seaman to slice it into ribbons. Then, geysers shot out of the floor and carried all of us into the air. While the kraken began to snake its tentacles to the others, Jones leapt up thanks to another geyser and closed in with the intent to slice me. I brought up my shield in response, then performed Spinneret, and the shield began to rotate in a very high velocity while still managing to stay on my hand. I then somehow managed to move my shield closer to Jones, and its petal spikes sliced into his suit. As he was pushed back, a Force lightning from Jerry struck him and the Kraken, which also unfortunately zapped us. As the geysers stopped and we all landed on the floor, I saw that there were no holes on the _Black Pearl_'s deck, which was strange given what had just pushed us up.

Just as we got up, black ink shot from Jones and it hit all of us, inflicting us with the Blind status effect. He then ran in for the kill, but a well-timed Reflera from me stopped him. Then, right after Jerry gave another dose of Force lightning and after I restored myself with Esuna, I decided to perform the Bluff Limit with Jack.

"Let's do it, Jack!", I said.

"Aye!", Jack nodded.

In an instant, he (somehow) produced a treasure chest which I opened, creating a vortex that drew Jones and many of the kraken's tentacles towards it. After that, Jack leaped into the air, then slashed at the seaman and his pet, floating thanks to the vortex. Below, I slashed at them with my DirLuxGun, which was in Solar Saber mode.

After a long while, I declared, "Okay!" so we could finish this.

"Right you are!", agreed Jack as he dropped a bomb in the chest and I closed the lid, which sucked Jones and the kraken's tentacles in, leaving the rest of it struggling outside it trying to get itself out. We then looked at each other, then fled in separate directions as the chest exploded, leaving Davy Jones at critical and nearly all the kraken's tentacles useless.

Just then, a number of those fell onto the deck and slammed on it, sending everything flying including Davy Jones's heart, which its owner found and made a grab for it. However, a shot rang just before his tentacle fingers wrapped around the leather pouch. Upon looking at it as we all landed, Jones saw that there was a hole in the pouch, and that black blood was seeping out of it.

As the contents of the pouch then turned into water, Jones began to back away as he clutched his chest. All the while, the kraken began to flail its tentacles as it seemed to dissolve into the sea. Eventually, Jones fell over the railing and into the sea, turning into water as well.

On the other side of the boat, we saw the _Flying Dutchman_—which had apparently caught up during the fight with Jones and the kraken—slowly falling apart, turning into nothing more than rotting planks and flotsam. A few seconds later, people of various races surfaced, all of them human, and one of them Bootstrap Bill. And for various reasons, the _Pearl_'s crew collected everybody in the water and brought them into the ship's deck.

KHKHKHKHKH

A while later…

After making sure everybody was settled, the _Black Pearl_ was en route to Tortuga, where Jones's former crew would be dropped off if they don't wish to join the _Pearl_'s crew.

"This all turned out well in the end.", Jack said. "Elizabeth is safe, Neither the Pearl nor I will be dragged to the bottom of the sea, Jones is no more, and I keep my compass." He then patted his vest in where he kept it, only to realize it wasn't there. "Now where is that thing?" He turned around to see Kairi holding it, which was open and pointing somewhere. Just as she turned to where it pointed to, surprised to see where it pointed, Jack took it back from her. "Thank you very much."

Meanwhile, Sora was talking with Will and Elizabeth. "So, since you two can't go home, where are you going next?", he asked.

"Where we go doesn't matter.", Elizabeth answered. "As long as we got each other." And with that, they walked away.

Just as Sora turned to Jack, something in the pirate glowed, catching everybody's attention. And then, Sora's Keyblade appeared. "No, no, no, no, no!", he was saying as the Crystal Ring in his clothes glowed as well. From his expression, it was apparent that he did not wish to 'elect' Jack after everything he did.

"Let me handle this.", Wizard offered as he summoned his GunDeLuna and took the Crystal Ring from Sora. Then, everything except for him and Jack vanished into blackness.

Afterwards, the ground exploded in a throng of white birds, revealing the mural. Its 'main character' was Jack Sparrow himself. The 'outer ring' had birds flying over the ocean, and the 'miscellaneous circles' had Will Turner, Elizabeth Swann, the late Barbossa for some reason, Mr. Gibbs, and the _Black Pearl_. Strangely, the _Black Pearl_'s had a heart around it.

"Talk about…never mind." Wizard thought to himself as he then jumped into the air, slowly turned to the mural, and tossed the Crystal Ring to Jack. Once the ring 'passed' the candidate, a Heart appeared appeared under the pirate, and a Keyhole appeared on the spot in front of him. Wizard then aimed the Gun of Light at the Keyhole and fired a beam into it. When the beam hit the Keyhole, the Heart shone brightly, engulfing him, Jack, and the whole mural. When the light faded, they were back with everybody else.

"What just happened back there?", asked Mr. Gibbs.

"Well, let's say that your captain had been desiring to obtain one of those special swords.", Wizard explained as he pointed at Sora's Keyblade. "Maybe his desires will come true. Or maybe he'l get one of these." The Techo held up his own weapon. "Or even something else entirely." _Like a Fusil of Shadows._

There were murmurs of understanding from the entire crew, many of them not getting what they were told or just not caring.

"All right, Mr Gibbs. Now, off to—" Jack didn't get to finish his sentence as Jerry smacked his back with an oar and he fell to the floor. What followed next was Aquanax getting onto his back and jumping on it multiple times.

"Pirates.", Jerry grumbled. "I think I'm starting to like them. But for now, hasta la vista." He then went over to Wizard, who took out the teleporter and already had Lea beside him.

Sora then said, "We should take our leave now, Kairi." When she didn't answer, he turned to see her looking at him, somewhat entranced. "Kairi?"

She snapped back into focus as she shook her head. "Yeah?"

"Were leaving now, okay?"

"Okay." As the two joined Wizard, with me carrying an infuriated and flailing Aquanax in my arms.

Just before the Techo could push the button, Lea quipped, "You know? We never got around to gathering those souls." Wizard just grumbled before teleporting us back to the Falcon.

Gummi Ship Time: Hanging Threads

My four Neopets were playing the Command Board, having unlocked the "Pirate Board" after our visit to Port Royal.

"So…how was Port Royal?", Messerole asked as he moved the Jack Sparrow piece across the board, ending on a "Damage Panel" and the slots wheel on his side of the board—which depicted the "Goal Points" he had—changed the number it depicted into a lower one. "Darn."

"Well…" Aquanax rolled the die, then moved the Kairi piece onto one of her claimed "Command Panels". "Let's just say I've begun to appreciate the pirates in Krawk Island a lot more."

"Oh really?" Meanwhile, Euyflavia rolled, then moved the Riku piece past a Check Panel…and onto a Command Panel owned by Tychophon's Davy Jones piece.

"Yeah. I always thought of Cap'n Threelegs as unnecessarily harsh with his pirate speak. But now that I've seen real pirates up close, I realize he's not that bad a fellow after all."

"He's a fair tutor.", said the Shoyru as he moved his Davy Jones piece onto the "Special Panel". A hologram of a large anthro…something in a white jumpsuit with gold highlights and an orange cape introduced itself as Captain Justice and appeared right behind Davy Jones before granting its player some Goal Points. "Score."

"I wonder where we're gonna go next?", wondered Euyflavia.

"Wherever it is, it's gonna be an adventure of a lifetime."

"You said it." The four of them smiled, then bumped fists/paws as they reached over the table.

-Yellow Travelers Chronicler-

**Ragetti**

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)_

A pirate who used to work with Barbossa, but now serves Jack Sparrow. A notable feature of his is his wooden right eye, which pops out on occasion. Another is that in spite of his ditziness, he has a few moments of brilliance.

**Pintel**

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)_

A pirate who used to work with Barbossa, but now serves Jack Sparrow. He is Ragetti's uncle.

**Joshamee Gibbs **

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)_

Jack Sparrow's devoted first mate and second-in-command of the _Black Pearl_ who tends to smell of rum. He once worked to capture pirates and has even known Elizabeth Swann as a child, but has now become a pirate himself.

**Davy Jones**

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)_

An immortal captain who sails the seven seas and is in league with Maleficent. He was meant to ferry the souls lost at sea to the afterlife, but he abandoned his duty and began to prey on weyward sailors. He then would give these souls the chance to avoid death and final judgment by joining his crew, where they would eventually become a part of the ship itself, forever enslaved to its fearsome captain.

**Vice Grip**

Large crab-like Heartless. Even though their speed is low and their movements awkward due to their size, they have the power to crush anything in their claws.

**"Bootstrap Bill" Turner**

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)_

A pirate who had opposed Barbossa's mutiny and paid for it by being strapped to a cannon and being sent to the sea floor. Since he had been under the influence of the Aztec Gold's curse, he could not die and begged Davy Jones to save him. He is also Will Turner's father.

**James Lysander Norrington**

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)_

A man who used to hold a high position in the East India Trading Company. However, due to his inability to capture Jack Sparrow, he left his position in shame and is now as low as a pirate.

**Kraken**

_Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)_

The faithful pet of Davy Jones. He summons it from the deep to prey on unwary ships and mariners to collect dying sailors to join his crew. It is near-impossible to kill.

(1) I know it probably doesn't exist in Jack Sparrow's time, but in that case, just assume some sort of easy poker game.

(2) The 'Lysander' is a Fan Fiction convention I found in the TV Tropes WMG page for the POTC series.

(3) I'll use the game VAs instead of the film ones, even though Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, and Keira Knightley are better.

nightelf37: And here are the credits.

_James Arnold Taylor as Jack Sparrow_

_Crispin Freeman as Will Turner_

_Eliza Schneider as Elizabeth Swann_

_Jack Davenport as James Norrington_

_Bill Nighy as Davy Jones_

_Lee Arenberg as Pintel_

_Mackenzie Crook as Ragetti_

_Kevin R. McNally as Mr. Gibbs_

_Stellan Skarzgård as Bootstrap Bill_

nightelf37: See ya on Third.


End file.
